WOMEN'S ISSUES IN POLAND - SCENESETTER FOR AMBASSADOR VERVEER'S JUNE 20-22 VISIT TO WARSAW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 WARSAW 000626 SENSITIVE SIPDIS G/IWI FOR AMBASSADOR VERVEER STATE ALSO FOR EUR, DRL, G/TIP LABOR FOR ILAB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM OPPI SCUL ELAB PL SUBJECT: WOMEN'S ISSUES IN POLAND - SCENESETTER FOR AMBASSADOR VERVEER'S JUNE 20-22 VISIT TO WARSAW WARSAW 00000626 001.2 OF 004 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The political and economic transformation in Poland over the last two decades has brought considerable improvement in the lives of Polish women. Nevertheless, women continue to face a number of challenges, including underrepresentation in political life, discrimination in the labor market, and gender-based violence. The June 20-21 "Women for Poland, Poland for Women" Congress in Warsaw is an excellent opportunity to assess women's contributions to Poland's economic and political transformation. Congress organizers expect 3,000 women from various social and professional milieus to participate. The Congress will analyze Poland's development from a female perspective and identify the most pressing issues related to the status and rights of women. Your participation in the Congress and Secretary Clinton's message send a clear signal that women's issues are a top priority for the U.S. Government. END SUMMARY. WOMEN IN THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SPHERES -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Over the last twenty years, women have become increasingly more active in public life. In the 2008 issue of the Global Gender Gap Report released by the World Economic Forum last November, Poland rose 11 places to 49th among the 130 countries evaluated in the report. The rise was due to gains in the percentage of women among legislators, senior government officials and managers, as well as in ministerial level positions. ¶3. (SBU) Despite these gains, women are still underrepresented in Poland's political life. 52 percent of the Polish population is female, but there are only 94 women in the 460-seat lower chamber of Parliament (Sejm),eight women in the 100-seat Senate, and five women in the 20-member Council of Ministers. In 2004-2009, Poland ranked 25th out of 27 EU member states in the number of female members of the European Parliament (7 out of 54),followed only by Cyprus and Malta. In this year's European Parliament elections, the number of women rose slightly to 11 out of 50. The Women's Party, established in 2007, has not developed into a significant movement nor won any seats in the Polish or EU parliaments. ¶4. (SBU) Although active in economic life, Polish women still face a number of challenges. Polish women run businesses, hold top managerial positions in large companies, are well educated, and are active in non-governmental organizations. According to Monika Ksieniewicz of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, women run one third of all companies in Poland. Nevertheless, Polish women find it difficult to balance an active professional career with family life. In addition, according to Malgorzata Tarasiewicz, Director of the Network of East-West Women Association, women still struggle with common stereotypes concerning the traditional social roles of men and women -- public life is governed by men, and women's role is centered on family -- which makes it difficult for men to accept women in professional roles. GENDER EQUALITY ISSUES -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The constitution provides for equal rights for men and women in family law, property law, and in the judicial system; however, in practice there are no laws implementing these provisions. The 'equal pay for equal work' rule has not yet been implemented, either. A report published in April 2009 indicated a huge disparity -- on average 20 percent -- between remuneration levels for male and female university graduates. In some areas, such as the arts or freelance work, the gap was as large as 60 percent. Women often hold lower-level positions; they are fired more readily, and are less likely to be promoted. ¶6. (SBU) Poland has failed to adopt an EU-mandated comprehensive anti-discrimination law, although it was obliged to do so by 2007. In February 2009, 32 Polish NGOs which promote women's rights sent a complaint to the European Commission pointing out the lack of GOP action on anti-discrimination. In May, the European Commission referred Poland to the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) for not codifying Community rules prohibiting gender discrimination in access to and supply of goods and services. If the ECJ finding shares the Commission's conclusions, Poland may face huge financial penalties. Work on the new legislation is underway. ¶7. (SBU) There are currently two central government institutions that monitor and combat discrimination in Poland. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy Department for Women, Family and Combating Discrimination is responsible for incorporating gender equality into governmental policy, and monitoring implementation of government programs to promote gender equality. The Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Status established by Prime Minister Tusk in March 2008 WARSAW 00000626 002.2 OF 004 monitors all types of discrimination. ¶8. (SBU) The Government undertakes measures to combat various types of discrimination. Between November 2008 and January 2009, the Ministry of Labor implemented an EU-funded project aimed at raising awareness among public administration employees on gender equality issues. The project consisted of a series of training sessions on gender equality for public administration employees. In February 2009, the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Status announced that all public administration institutions at the central and provincial level, including regional labor inspections and law enforcement agencies, will over the next three years appoint their own plenipotentiaries for combating discrimination and will undergo specialized EU-funded training. ¶9. (SBU) Despite these efforts, women's organizations are critical of the current Government and institutions for failing to prioritize gender equality issues. NGOs are particularly critical of Elzbieta Radziszewska, the current Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment, whom they accuse of a lack of commitment to deal with women-oriented discrimination. Radziszewska has been strongly criticized by the opposition Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) for failing to implement EU projects on gender equality, which has resulted in a considerable loss of EU funds designated for such activities. Radziszewska asserts that while she is responsible for monitoring discrimination, individual ministries are responsible for promoting gender equality. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Violence against women continues to be a serious problem in Poland. Over the last 10 years there has been an increase in the number of domestic violence cases reported. This is in part attributable to heightened police awareness, particularly in urban areas, as a result of media campaigns and NGO efforts. However, the number of women affected by domestic abuse is still underreported, particularly in small towns and villages. The NGO Women's Rights Center reported that police were occasionally reluctant to intervene in domestic violence incidents if the perpetrator was a member of the police or if victims were unwilling to cooperate. ¶11. (SBU) Poland adopted legislation on combating domestic violence in 2005; however, numerous NGOs report that it has failed to provide adequate protection to victims. The main problem lies in the lack of an effective restraining order mechanism to isolate perpetrators from victims. Also, there is insufficient financial assistance to victims when the victims are economically dependent on the perpetrators. NGOs observe that women are often reluctant to open a case because the investigation, pretrial proceedings, and trial can last for two to three years, during which time victims often remain financially dependent on perpetrators and thus vulnerable to further violence, coercion, and other forms of pressure. Some proposed revisions to the law combating domestic violence are under consideration. ¶12. (SBU) Sexual harassment continues to be a serious problem in Poland. Social awareness also continues to increase as more cases are reported by the media. Under the criminal code, persons convicted of sexual harassment may be sentenced to up to three years in prison. According to Center for Women's Rights, sexual harassment was a serious and underreported problem. Many victims do not report abuse or withdraw harassment claims in the course of police investigations out of shame or fear of losing their jobs. According to Dziennik, a leading Polish daily, in 2008 only 20 women filed sexual harassment complaints with the Labor Inspection Office, while a recent public opinion poll revealed that every tenth Polish woman may have experienced unacceptable behavior from her supervisor. ¶13. (SBU) In November 2008, Dziennik revealed that the Polish Labor Inspection Office is unprepared to deal with the problem of sexual harassment. A Dziennik reporter called 16 Labor Inspectorate field offices claiming to be a victim of sexual harassment. In several cases, Labor Inspectorate personnel told the reporter that such behavior is typical for some men, that she is probably very attractive and should take such a behavior as a compliment. Chief Labor Inspector Tadeusz Zajac promised to take concrete measures to improve the situation. The results of a Labor Ministry January 2009 survey were similarly striking: 20 percent of women working at the Ministry reported a hostile work environment. In addition, 60 percent of the women said they did not know whom to turn to when facing sexual harassment or a hostile work environment. ¶14. (SBU) In March 2009, the Office of the Plenipotentiary for Equal WARSAW 00000626 003.2 OF 004 Treatment published a comprehensive manual for victims of sexual harassment. The manual explains what sexual harassment is, how to identify it, and how to combat it, how to collect evidence against perpetrator, and who can provide assistance. TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS -------------- ¶15. (SBU) In the Department's 2009 TIP Report, Poland was ranked in Tier 1 (the best ranking). Poland has long been a source and transit country for women and girls trafficked primarily to Western European countries for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. As a result of its increasing economic prosperity, Poland has also become a destination country for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and labor exploitation. As in many countries, traffickers target young, unemployed, and poorly paid women, particularly those with weak family ties and support networks. Traffickers attracted victims with false promises of lucrative jobs, arranged marriages, fraud, and coercion. Traffickers threatened victims with violence, and those who resisted or tried to flee were raped, beaten, or injured. In 2008, 315 victims of trafficking were identified by Polish authorities. La Strada, the major Polish NGO which combats human trafficking, provided assistance to victims, 85 percent of whom were women. WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. According to the 1993 law on family planning, protection of a human embryo and conditions for terminating pregnancy, abortion is allowed only in three instances: when pregnancy poses a threat to the life or health of the mother, when pre-natal examinations indicate a high probability of severe birth defects or incurable disease, and when pregnancy was the result of rape. As women's rights NGOs point out, even those entitled to legal abortion under the strict anti-abortion law are often denied. Under Polish law, a doctor has the right to deny an abortion if it is in conflict with his/her conscience (so-called conscience clause). ¶17. (SBU) According to official statistics, 322 legal abortions were performed in 2007 compared to 340 a year earlier. Women's organizations estimate the number of illegal abortions at between 80,000 and 120,000 per year. Polish women also travel abroad to undergo procedures that are prohibited in Poland. In May 2009, Anand Grover, United Nations special envoy on health issues, criticized Poland for limited access to contraceptives, prenatal tests and abortion. He stated that in cases when abortion is allowed, it should be made available and conducted safely. He also appealed for the provision of unbiased sexual education and better funding for contraceptives. MISSION POLAND'S EFFORTS -------------- ¶18. (SBU) Mission Poland regularly monitors developments on women's issues in Poland and often engages in outreach programs to promote the rights of women in the country. The following are some recent examples: -- In December 2008, Embassy Warsaw actively participated in the 2008 international campaign "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence" by raising awareness of the problem through a series of profiles posted on Embassy Warsaw's website of individuals and institutions actively working against gender-based violence in Poland. -- In September 2008, the Embassy provided funding of an Interior Ministry and IOM co-sponsored campaign to raise awareness of the problem of trafficking of women through a series of displays in major train stations around the country. -- In March 2008, the Mission sponsored the visit of veteran TV journalist Susan Spencer of CBS News, who spoke at the International Women's Day event hosted by Ambassador Ashe, met with leading women in business and journalism at an event hosted by the Consul General in Krakow, and participated in speaking programs in Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw. -- In February 2008, the Embassy organized a visit by Cindy Dyer, the Director for the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice, who attended a conference on victim assistance and protection organized by the Polish Ministry of Justice. She also met with Polish governmental officials, members of parliament and representatives of NGOs. WARSAW 00000626 004.2 OF 004 -- In December 2007, Embassy Warsaw organized a DVC on Combating Violence against Women with US experts from the Department of State, Department of Justice and US-based NGOs, and representatives from the Polish government ministries and NGOs. ASHE