About the group

Almost from the very beginning of Szpila’s existence, we have been guided by the motto: “You will never walk alone”. (…) We want to give a sense of being part of the community to every person who takes action for change and faces its consequences. We want these people to have more courage and strength to take on new challenges because they feel our support. We want to sensitize our community to the need for radical solidarity, care, and mutual assistance. In addition, importantly, we want to emphasize that mutual support must be constantly developed within our communities (…).

They are here to provide legal assistance to any socially engaged person who suffers legal consequences because of their actions. They offer legal support throughout the proceedings, cover the costs of the process, organize solidarity assistance. They also help to publicize the case, carry out advocacy and media activities. To be able to do this on a large scale, they cooperate with a group of more than 100 lawyers, and during demonstrations Szpila is supported by a field group composed of anarchists who give out an anti-repressive phone number and provide anti-repressive tips.

Szpila focuses primarily on helping people who are disadvantaged and vulnerable to repression, especially queer people, economically excluded people, or those experiencing cross-discrimination.

We want the word “repression” to firmly establish itself in the minds of people living in Poland and not be associated only with detentions during Women’s Strikes. We want to broaden the knowledge about the harm caused by the prison system, how criminal law is used to perpetuate the status quo and mainly affects disadvantaged people, deepening their exclusion.

 

 

About the action

The main activity of Szpila is to coordinate anti-repressive assistance and carry out advocacy and educational activities. Since August 2020, they have been running a round-the-clock anti-repressive phone. People using this phone can count on legal advice and assistance in finding a lawyer in the event of detention or legal proceedings. During demonstrations, they carry out on-call duties, and in the event of detention, their task is to determine the identity of the detained persons and their location and to provide them with legal assistance at the police station. They also support the work of lawyers, taking care of their every need when providing assistance to detainees, or helping them collect materials. Szpila also organizes anti-repressive training and participates in the creation of educational materials on civil rights in contact with the services.

We treat this as our contribution to building resistance against the existing reality, full of inequality, injustice, discrimination, and oppression of various social groups. We are here to make other people feel safe and able to act, without fear of being left alone.

 

Grant amount: PLN 60,000

Photo: Mikołaj Kiembłowski