The “Stop Pedophilia” law aims to “protect children from the promotion of sexual activities among minors.” This proposal prohibits and punishes the “corruption” and “sexualization” of minors with penalties of up to five years in prison.
The law was adopted during the last session of the Sejm (Polish Chamber of Deputies) before its renewal, just after the parliamentary elections. It obtained the favorable votes of 243 deputies from the majority and the Nationalist Confederation (Konfederacja), against 202 deputies from the majority opposition groups Civic Coalition (KO), Left and Polish Coalition (KP).
The preamble to the approved text states that “the new law will protect children and adolescents against the depravity and perversion of morals which are spreading alarmingly through so-called sex education.”
President Andrzejk Duda had vetoed two similar bills last year, on the grounds that they were not yet accepted by society. This time, the law was proposed by a citizens’ legislative initiative, a legal instrument that requires the support of at least 100,000 citizens.
The proposal also received public support from PiS party figures, including party chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, Elżbieta Witek, the speaker of the Sejm (lower house of parliament), and minister Czarnek.
Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party pushed through a law to ban sex education for minors in schools and set penalties of up to five years in prison for those who break the rules.