POLAND IS ON STRIKE - HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP
What is going on?
Poland's top court has ruled that abortions in cases of foetal defects are unconstitutional. Poland's abortion laws were already among the strictest in Europe but the Constitutional Tribunal's ruling will mean an almost total ban. Since the ruling, protests have been taking place across Poland.
Access to safe abortion services is a human right. Forcing someone to carry on an unwanted pregnancy, or forcing them to seek out an unsafe abortion, is a violation of their human rights, including the rights to privacy and bodily autonomy.
Dear friends from around the world, we need your help in this fight for our human rights. Below are a few quick actions you can take to raise awareness of this situation, donation links, and resources to share.
Please send an email to [email protected] if you have any suggestions on what else should be included here.
Summary:
1. Donate to Polish women’s rights organisations
2. Protest remotely - email the Polish MPs
3. Post messages of support and solidarity on social media
4. Go for a walk near the Polish Embassy in your country
5. Support independent media in Poland
6. Check out and support Polish sex educators on social media
7. The fight does not stop here, keep the conversation going and reach out to people with drastically different views.
8. FAQ
1. Donate
Donate to the following organisations that support safe abortion and women’s rights in Poland:
* Aborcyjny Dream Team - this organisation helps Polish women get safe abortion
* Centrum Praw Kobiet - Women’s Rights Centre works for equal status of women and men in public and private life.
* Fundacja Feminoteka - an organisation supporting survivors of sexual violence
* Amnesty International Poland
* Aborcja Bez Granic - an organisation that provides information, practical support and funding to people in Poland who need abortions, in Poland (with early medical abortion pills) or abroad.
* Abortion Support Network - ASN supports people forced to travel for an abortion, mainly from Ireland, Poland, Northern Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar, and the Isle of Man. Asn.org.uk
* Federa - an organisation focused on reproductive rights.
* Ciocia Basia (Auntie Barb) helps to get an abortion in Berlin.
* Ciocia Wienia (Auntie Vienia) support us in terms of reproductive rights in Vienna
* Ciocia Czesia (Auntie Czesia) help to organise abortions in Czechia
* Abortion Network Amsterdam helps to organise abortions in the Netherlands.
2. Protest remotely
Send an email to Polish MPs, submitters and Constitutional Tribunal for #wyroknakobiety (#sentenceonwomen).
ONLINE WE ARE CAPABLE OF ANYTHING!
If you cannot leave your house or you don’t live in Poland - protest remotely!
Send an email to MPs, submitters and Constitutional Tribunal for #wyroknakobiety (#sentenceonwomen)
When? Where? You can protest from any place with Internet access.
How to do it?
1. Create an email address, which will avoid spam. It can be ‘[email protected]’ or maybe ‘[email protected]’ - the more diverse, the better, and when the mail sounds like something connected to institutions, deliveries or offers, chances are that it will avoid spam
2. Choose addresses from the list and write a message or choose one from our generator below
3. While typing in the addresses, remember that you can send many e-mails at once! Simply click BCC (‘blind carbon copy��) in the recipients bar and you can add the rest of the addresses there
PS - Avoid vulgarisms and threats. Try to be polite and cultural.
Here you can find the LIST OF SHAME (people responsible for the current situation): https://docs.google.com/.../1XZ941vyzbVZPVfLiPPBu.../edit…
Version with semicolons: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f_cLuYlOPDZ3n3l-yPFb6fai26vzb6tV5oRRAEftx2g/preview?fbclid=IwAR0juNzAgn-akFw57PiW4FTFZ3uk28blVG_X_OQUkW-Bo-F8q6i4z5gkIYk&pru=AAABdYn2xMI*AWx-_b9P9QOQ27aqPGzNqw
SEND ANONYMOUSLY!
You can send emails completely anonymously. You’ll just need to download TOR browser. It will take a few seconds of your time but it’s time for full mobilization.
Instruction for downloading TOR: https://www.torproject.org/
GENERATOR
You don’t have time to write the message? Don’t worry. Below you’ll find five synonymous messages - each of them, after processing through the generator, will become a unique version. You’ll just need to copy the one that you like and past it into the “Mieszaj tekst TWÓJ TEKST” window on the page: https://mieszacz.uper.pl/
Various versions for the generator (they are created with the UK people in mind but feel free to change the country):
1. We {women|girls|citizens} of the United Kingdom want to {support|help} our Polish {sisters|friends} in their {fight|battle|war} for {human rights|freedom|dignity}. We are {frustrated with|shocked by|enraged by} the Constitutional Tribunal’s {decision|sentence|resolution|opinion} on the {matter|issue} of {abortion|termination of pregnancy|terminating the pregnancy} in the {case|circumstances} of {lethal|severe|genetic} {defects|impairments|damages} of the foetus. We {claim|think} that it is {unacceptable|impermissible|objectionable} in a {lawful|democratic|law-abiding} country and we {demand|request} {an immediate|an instantaneous|a prompt} {resignation|demission|dismissal} of the Polish government.
2. We {address|write to} you as {girls|women|people|citizens of The United Kingdom} {alarmed by|concerned with|distressed over} the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s {decision|sentence|resolution|opinion} {concerning|regarding} the {abortion|pregnancy termination} ban in the {case|circumstances} of {lethal|severe|genetic} {defects|impairments|damages} of the foetus. We cannot {agree with|allow} such {decision|resolution} in a {lawful|democratic|law-abiding} country and we {demand|request|ask for} {an immediate|an instantaneous|a prompt} {resignation|demission|dismissal} of the Polish government.
3. I {address|write to} you as {a woman|a UK citizen|a girl} who is {alarmed by|concerned with|distressed over} the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s {decision|sentence|resolution|opinion}. I cannot {agree to|allow} sentencing {Polish women|my sisters|Polish citizens} to {traumas|pain|suffering} connected with the {abortion ban|inability to terminate pregnancy} in the {case|circumstances} of {lethal|severe|genetic} {defects|impairments|damages} of the foetus. {Therefore|Consequently|For this reason} I {demand|request|ask for} {an immediate|an instantaneous|a prompt} {resignation|demission|dismissal} of the Polish government.
4. We are {alarmed by|concerned with|distressed over} the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s {decision|sentence|resolution|opinion} {concerning|regarding} the {abortion|pregnancy termination} ban in the {case|circumstances} of {lethal|severe|genetic} {defects|impairments|damages} of the foetus. Us, {women|girls|people of the United Kingdom|citizens of the United Kingdom}. {Therefore|Consequently|For this reason} I {demand|request|ask for} {an immediate|an instantaneous|a prompt} {resignation|demission|dismissal} of the Polish government, to which the {life|fate} of {women|girls|citizens} is {unimportant|insignificant}.
LET’S DO THIS!
More info here
3. Post messages of support and solidarity on social media
Hashtags: #piekłokobiet #strajkkobiet #tojestwojna #wyroknakobiety #aborcjabezgranic #ogolnopolskistrajkkobiet #powiedzkomuś #podajdalej #pieklokobiet #wypierdalac #sentenceonwomen
Support Dziewuchy Dziewuchom - this grassroots organisation provides information and educational content on women’s rights, abortion, contraception, feminism, gender-based violence etc.
Downloadable and printable content:
* Official strike posters here
* Posters from Pogotowie Graficzne
* Solidarity with Polish women graphics by @grace_oclock
* Posters by Matylda Damięcka
* Poster by Marta Frej
* Posters from LinArtArt
Instagram - resources in English
* Insta version of this document with graphics by @queerowyfeminizm
* Abortion laws in Poland
* Catholic church and abortion ban in Poland
* Why situation in Poland is even worse than you think Part 1 and Part 2
* What’s happening in Poland right now?
4. Sign a petition
Change.org: Legalise abortions in Poland. Women deserve a choice!!!
Avaaz (in Polish) - Solidarity with Polish women
5. Go for a walk near the Polish Embassy in your country
Go for a ‘walk’ and show your solidarity by bringing candles, posters, hangers (symbol of the protest and unsafe abortions).
You can find addresses of Polish missions abroad here.
6. Support independent media in Poland
The current government controls state media and it’s absolutely terrifying how they present the news on the TV channels that everyone has access to in Poland. The party wants to further reshape the country’s private media, saying “The media in Poland should be Polish,” because foreign media companies own a string of Polish titles. More info here.
Make sure to share and support the content published by independent newspapers, not any channel that is controlled by PiS (TVP, TVP info, Polish Radio)
Some independent channels include: OKO Press, Krytyka Polityczna, Tygodnik Powszechny, Kultura Liberalna.
7. Support sexual educators
Sex education in Polish schools is almost nonexistent. Equivalent classes are often led by catechist or biology teachers. Lessons and topics are often outdated and extremely conservative. The new bill Polish Parliament was recently working on - known as the “Stop Pedophilia” project - aims to send sex educators to prison for up to five years. The legislation would “criminalize the promotion of underage sexual activity” and would also see anti-abortion and anti-contraception ideology taught in Polish schools.
The Polish