Contributed, in part, by: Agnieszka Mrozik, Poland National VAW Monitor
last updated  October 11, 2006

2006 Amnesty International Report, Amnesty International, 23 May 2006.
The report documents human rights abuses in 150 countries around the world during the year 2005. In addition, it calls for action by governments and other groups in positions of power or influence. Achievements and actions of human rights activists around the world at all levels of activism are also highlighted in the report. The report addresses violence against women issues including: domestic violence, trafficking of women, forced sterilization of women, and the actions of women’s human rights organizations. The report also includes information on specific human rights conditions in Poland.

2006 Trafficking in Persons Report, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State, June 2006 (PDF, 295 pages)
This is the latest comprehensive report on the status of human trafficking in over 150 countries worldwide. It describes the status of human trafficking in each of the countries and makes recommendations on how countries can combat human trafficking within their own borders. The report is the U.S. Government’s primary diplomatic tool in the effort to end forced labor, sexual exploitation, and modern-day slavery.

Legislation in the Member States of the Council of Europe in the Field of Violence Against Women, prepared in part by Jill Radford, United Kingdom, for the Council of Europe's Steering Committee for Equality Between Men and Women, March 2004 (Doc. EG 2004 2).
This report details national legislation dealing with violence against women in 38 of the 45 Council of Europe member states. In 1995, the Council requested member states to complete a questionnaire on relevant legislation, and subsequent research completed by the Council allowed for a survey of the varying legislation of member states. The report consists of two volumes, ending with a list of good practices and effective legislation prohibiting violence against women. Pages 83-93 of Volume II contain information on Poland.

2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Poland, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 8 March 2006.
This report has separate sections addressing the situation of women, children and national/racial/ethnic minorities, as well as trafficking in persons in Poland.

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State, June 2005.
The Report is released by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State, June 3, 2005. Section 5 of the report contains a subsection on trafficking in Poland.

Women, Children and the Law in Poland: Protection or Barrier?, Monika Płatek, Law Faculty, Warsaw University, Poland, May 2005 (PDF, 17 Pages)
The report was prepared in the project “Examination of development and implementation of legislation towards protection from interpersonal violence” conducted under direction of Lucyna Kirwil at the Institute for Social Studies, Warsaw University in “Co-ordination Action on Human Rights Violation” (CAHRV) from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005. It contains the description of the legal status of women and children in Poland and a critical summary of the key innovative, defining or successful features of the legislation. It is accompanied by an extensive bibliography of books and articles connected with the examined subject.

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Poland, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 28 February 2005.
Section 5 of the report contains a paragraph on the status of women in Poland, and a subsection on trafficking.

Violence and Conflicts at Home, Michał Wenzel, The Bulletin of Public Opinion Research Center, Poland, February 2005 (PDF, 4 Pages). The whole report in Polish (PDF, 17 Pages) may be found here.
The report contains the newest statistics on domestic violence in Poland. It also examines the attitude of Polish people to this phenomenon and their knowledge about the institutions where one may seek help.

Poles on the Phenomenon of Trafficking in Women, Małgorzata Omyła, Public Opinion Research Center, Poland, January 2005 (PDF, 17 Pages)
The report contains the newest statistics on the situation of Polish women forced to the prostitution in the country and abroad. It also informs about the activity of organizations (i.e. La Strada) that help the victims of human trafficking.

2003 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Poland, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 25 February 2004.
This report has separate sections addressing the situation of women and trafficking in persons in Poland.

Gender Assessment of the Impact of EU Accession on the Status of Women in the Labour Market in CEE, National Study: Poland, Kinga Lohmann and Anita Seibert (eds.), Karat Coalition, 2003. (PDF, 112 pages).
This report provides an overview of Poland and EU accession, women's access to jobs and equal pay, the relationship between social services and employment, and reproductive rights.

Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2003 (Events of 2002), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, 24 June 2003. (PDF, 8 pages).
This report describes the overall situation of human rights in Poland, and it includes a section on women's rights.

Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective - Violence Against Women, Addendum 1, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 27 Feb. 2003. (PDF, 435 pages). 
This report has information regarding the status of women in Poland. Information on Poland can be found on page 369.

Domestic Violence in Poland, The Advocates for Human Rights, 2002. (PDF, 62 pages).
This report documents domestic violence as a human rights violation in Poland. The report analyzes the response of both the criminal justice system and civil law to the problem of domestic violence and includes information about recently-implemented police programs to coordinate the management of domestic violence cases. The report also addresses Poland's obligations under international law, including the criteria for accession into the European Union.

Human Traffic, Human Rights: Redefining Victim Protection, Anti-Slavery International, 2002. (PDF, 10 pages).
This report describes mechanisms for assisting victims of trafficking, as well as obstacles to successful prosecutions, in ten countries, including Poland.

Employment Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in Poland, The Advocates for Human Rights, July 2002. (PDF, 57 pages). This report descries the problem of gender-based employement discrimination in Poland, as well as steps the Polish government has taken to address employment discrimination.

Women 2000 - An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, 5 November 2000. (PDF, 26 pages).
This report describes the situation and the legal framework on discrimination, socio-economic and political rights and violence against women.

If you know of online reports on human rights or women's rights that you would like to see posted on this page, please contact the Website Administrator at stopvaw@mnadvocates.org. Please provide the title, authors' names, and URL of the online report. Submission of an online report does not guarantee posting on this website, and posting is at the discretion of the Website Administrator.