Woman Shot In Head After Attending Pride March In Poland
metroweekly.comA participant in Poland’s third Olsztyn Equality March on Saturday, May 20, was shot in the head by a BB air gun. This comes as Poland’s government established nationwide “LGBTQ-Free Zones.”One of the march organizers, Olsztyński Marsz Równości, told a Polish news site that the woman, who was carrying a Pride flag, was shot in the head by a BB gun on her way to an afterparty following the march.The woman suffered a minor head injury and was released from the hospital after a brief stay.
The incident was reported to police, but no perpetrator was found.Pride march organizers condemned the violence and called for equality in Poland.“This is an attack on all of us!” a statement issued by Olsztyn Equality read. “Even if the police refuse to see a link between the shooting and the Equality March, we explicitly condemn this attack as an act of violence directed against the entire LGBTQIA+ community and its allies.“This is what we face all over Poland, including Olsztyn.
This is our home, and we have the right to feel safe here. You will not intimidate us!”Poland is considered one of the unsafest places in Europe for LGBTQ people, according to ILGA-Europe, an advocacy group devoted to protecting LGBTQ rights in Europe.ILGA-Europe determines a place’s safety level by assessing several factors including Equality & non-discrimination, Family Protections, and Hate Crime data.This is not the first time Pride parades in Poland have gotten violent.
