Data is key. 
Robust, disaggregated data, which is consistent across data sets is needed. 
The way data is currently collected making Polish families invisible, which impacts the way how the support systems sees the needs for a specialist support and provision. 

This petition is to address and support the following: 

1. Promoting rights and justice for minorities who face the most severe forms of racism
2. Promotion of rights and justice for Polish families by identifying and tackling structures and systems that may deny them their rights.
3. Desk research on policy asks and key power influencers in Policy and Government departments
4. Focus groups with Polish families to understand the extent of inequality, discrimination, racism and xenophobia and what capacity and systems improvements be helpful for them or new Polish migrants
5. Campaign and case study development to raise Polish people’s voices.
6. Developing online presentations, media, and lobbying training for Polish families to help them to participate in public life and influence social policy.
7.  Social media campaigns to raise awareness
8. Influencing and lobbying meetings with as many priority targets as possible.
9. Supporting Polish families to raise their own voices and speak out
10. Government petition with policy asks and evidence of injustices and racial discrimination
11. Education campaign for social protection departments to support equality and social protection capacity improvements for Polish families in the UK

This petition is an expansion of my current work and is a key pillar in helping to achieve the overarching aims for Polish families in the UK to be SAFE, PROTECTED and EMPOWERED to improve their lives. 

Why is this work particularly needed at this time?

The number of overseas born Polish nationals living in the UK increased from around 69,000 in 2004 (when Poland joined the European Union) to almost 1 million in 2019. Since then, it reduced to 682,000 by June 2022.  Yet, this is not recognised by UK systems.
Polish remains the most common non-British nationality in the UK in 2021 and it is the most spoken language after English in England and Wales according to the 2011 Census results, at the time of writing, the 2021 census data was not publicly available. Yet there are no Government funded services to support Polish people in a culturally sensitive way and in fact Polish people are positively discriminated against by Government Departments and remain invisible in services and at policy level. 

What are the key racial injustices impacting Polish people in the UK?

• Status in the UK: There is a discourse in UK society that identifies Poles as migrant workers whose value is measured in economic terms. In other words, they are seen as economic actors rather than citizens. Their narratives are also in dialogue with broader media and political discourses in the UK that construct them as the racialised East European and or White Other - that is, cheap, low-skilled economic migrants praised for their hard work, but also facing political hostility and racism.
• Limited ability to access social protection systems: linked to language barriers, a person arriving or living in the UK with little or no English faces challenges in obtaining the most basic services such as finding a toilet, using public transport, or buying goods. This is especially prevalent among women survivors where Polish families are often unfamiliar with service provision, legislative frameworks, and practice processes in the UK, including Legal Aid, social housing, child protection and police injunctions. 
• Discrimination and exclusion, particularly when trying to access work:  A survey indicated that 71 per cent of Polish people had been (or had known another Polish person who was) subjected to either verbal or physical abuse at the hands of British whites or other groups. 
• Poverty, suicide, and depression: Polish by and for organisations are reporting high levels of suicide, depression, and poverty amongst Polish migrant workers. Figures from the Polish embassy indicating that a fifth of the Poles who died took their own lives. 
• Turned away from critical support: Polish survivors of domestic violence are repeatedly being turned away from refuges because they do not meet the criteria to fund their space and because there are insufficient spaces. Furthermore Polish families face increased obstacles because currently there is not many places with Polish speaking workers, and very few have access to translators. Therefore, it is incredibly difficult to help those seeking safety form domestic abuse or suffering mental health, depression or addictions.

The outcomes I want to achieve are:

• Policy changes in favour of treating Polish people more equally and equitably.
• Updates to definitions and systems in Government departments that ensure visibility of Polish people 
• Improvements in capacity to support Polish people by Government departments including – data collection, monitoring, translated service information, language support, training and education on cultural needs, employment of Polish speaking people, increased funding for Polish services.