In Poland, there are no same-sex marriages or civil partnerships and homosexuals are not allowed to adopt.
The government, several regions, municipalities and even the Catholic Church are campaigning against the LGBTQ movement.
- Poland is a very conservative country.
Over 90 percent are Catholics and although many of them may not go to church every week, their attitude towards LGBTQ people is strongly colored by religion, says Daniel Tilles.
LGBTQ-free zones
Municipalities and regions in a third of the country have decided to fight what is called an "LGBTQ ideology".
- They do not want to call it anti-LGBTQ, but at the same time they want to remove all information about homosexuality and about gay rights from school books, says Daniel Tilles.
The rulers themselves claim that they are not against LGBTQ people but the "ideology" they stand for.
- But of course this affects people.
If you find out that you are part of an ideology that threatens the nation, it obviously affects hard, says Daniel Tilles.
Political decisions to combat the "LGBTQ ideology" have also encouraged people to be openly hostile and even violent towards LGBTQ people.
At the Pride parades that could still be held, groups of violent counter-protesters have appeared who did not retreat to fight and burn rainbow flags.
There are no statistics on the number of crime victims, as no legal definition of "hate crime" exists in Poland.
An assault, if reported, is an assault, even if the victim is affected solely because he or she is gay or trans.
The country continues backwards
Just a few weeks ago, the government appointed a new minister who is pronounced homophobic.
The newly appointed Minister of Education, Przemyslaw Czarnek, has said that the "LGBTQ ideology" has the same roots as Nazism and that people who follow it have no human value.
Daniel Tilles now fears that Poland will introduce even tougher anti-LGBTQ laws.
- Especially now, with the new Minister of Education who has very strong anti-LGBTQ views, there is a great risk of new, stricter laws.