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The European Court of Human Rights has its seat in Strasbourg
Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP
A lesbian woman who has been deprived of custody of her child has successfully sued her home country Poland before the European Court of Human Rights.
The sexual orientation of women had been discussed throughout the custody dispute, the Strasbourg court said on Thursday.
The Polish judges had discriminated against the woman because of her relationship with another woman and violated her right to private life.
Poland now has to pay 10,000 euros in compensation to the woman.
However, the judgment is not yet final.
Judges questioned the woman about her sex life
The woman had fought in Strasbourg against the fact that she had lost custody of her youngest child after separating from her husband.
According to the court, she was questioned about her sex life with her new partner at hearings in Poland.
Experts suggested that she should exclude her partner from family life so that she could keep custody.
All of this shows that the woman was treated differently by the Polish judges than a heterosexual mother would have been treated, the court ruled.
Poland now has three months to take action against the judgment.
Homophobia is still widespread in Catholic Poland.
President Andrzej Duda, who was re-elected in 2020, also raised the mood during the election campaign with verbal attacks on proponents of an alleged "LGBT ideology".
More than 90 municipalities, including Lublin, a city southeast of Warsaw, declared themselves "LGBT-free zones" last year. The movement has covered around a third of the country. Gay and lesbian activists calculated this number; To protest, they printed boards with the words “LGBT-Free Zone” and hung them for a photo at the entrance to the town. The pictures went around the world, the European Parliament condemned the homophobic statements. Municipalities in France announced local partnerships.
In the spring, the Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro presented a bill that would expressly prohibit people who live in same-sex relationships from adopting children.
Already now only married couples and individuals can adopt children in the country.
Same-sex couples are not legally recognized.
muk / dpa
