Ukraine’s LGBTIQ+ community finds hope in Poland

Denys is from Kharkiv, Ukraine. He arrived in Poland in March 2022 together with his family and their two pets. In Ukraine, Denys was as a social worker supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and other sexually or gender diverse (LGBTIQ+) people, distributing HIV tests and assisting them with doctor’s appointments.  

Denys was 18 years old when he decided to talk about his sexual orientation with his siblings and was met with support. Many LGBTIQ+ people often find themselves in a similar situation but do not receive the same love and support. “I had friends who were rejected by their families and the society for their sexual orientation, so they had to leave the country, and sometimes even wanted to commit suicide,” Denys recalls. 

Since the escalation of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 1 million Ukrainians and Third Country Nationals fled to Poland. A minority of these belong to the LGBTIQ+ community and tend to face multiple barriers in accessing safe housing and support services.  

Organizations like Lambda, a Polish NGO operating in Warsaw, offer much-needed support to LGBTIQ+ people fleeing Ukraine. Lambda has worked in Poland since 1997, and supports gay and transgender people with legal advice, psychological and social support. Lambda also organizes social and networking events for the LGBTIQ+ community. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Poland has partnered with Lambda since August 2022.  

“These people very often experience double stigmatization. Not only are they foreigners in a new country, but they also belong to the LGBTIQ+ community. So, together [with IOM] we are building a safe space for them,” says Krzysztof Kliszczyński, Director of Lambda. 

Since August 2022, Lambda, in partnership with IOM, has assisted over 900 people who fled the war in Ukraine. Every year, the NGO is supporting between 4,000 – 5,000 LGBTIQ+ people of various nationalities across Poland.  

Svetlana, a psychologist from Kyiv, Ukraine, working for Lambda, says her patients often experience different degrees of discrimination depending on where they are based, with larger cities being more tolerant.  She also adds “People feel fear, and the community themselves do not feel supported. It makes it difficult for people to express themselves” “The psychological help is crucial, as very often [LGBTIQ+] people, especially trans communities, are heavily discriminated against. They face risks of losing their job due to their [gender] identity or even blackmailed and threatened,” says Denys.

Over the years, Lambda has recorded an increase in acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people across Poland. “After 25 years of working for Lambda, the mood is changing for the better, and identifying as gay in Poland is becoming more widely accepted,” Krzysztof remarks.  

According to those who fled the war in Ukraine and are now living in Warsaw, there was little tolerance towards the LGTBIQ+ community, particularly from older generations. When lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex people held hands on the streets, they were faced with hostility. 

Denys believes that things have changed after the war in Ukraine began. “People became more united once the war started. Nobody cares who you are sleeping next to when you serve in the army,” he says, adding that he hopes things will stay like this after the war ends.

Thanks to continuous social integration activities and the tireless efforts of organizations such as Lambda, the community feels welcomed and more integrated into Polish life and society. 

If you are an LGBTIQ+ individual who needs support in Poland, please contact Lambda. 

IOM’s partnership with Lambda was made possible thanks to generous support from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.  

By Ewelina Kawczynska 

IOM Poland Public Information Coordinator