by Mona Chalabi. May 17, 2016.

Two-thirds of adults would be upset
if child was gay, and only a quarter would find it acceptable if boy
dressed as a girl.





Two-thirds of adults would be upset if
their child told them that they were in love with someone of the same
sex according to a survey of 96,000 people in 53 UN member states.


The
survey (pdf), which was conducted by the International
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)
found that regional differences in opinion exist, but that overall
the findings show “deeply entrenched heteronormative concepts of
sexual orientation and gender identity”. Only 28% of respondents
globally said they would find it acceptable if a male child always
dressed and expressed themselves as a girl.

A separate
report also released by the ILGA on Tuesday looks at laws
worldwide and finds that same-sex sexual acts can be punished with
death penalty in 13 states, or parts of states (representing 6% of
all UN states) while the threat of imprisonment exists in 75
countries and five entities.

International law map on LGBTI rights. Photograph: ILGA

Many residents of those countries
believe that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI)
should be criminalized. ILGA found that 45% of respondents in Africa
agreed “being LGBTI should be considered a crime” along with 34%
of respondents in Asia, 17% in Europe,
15% in the Americas and 14% in Oceania.


When ILGA spoke to advocates they
found that “in many countries over decades [their experience] has
been that same-sex intimacy has been classified as ‘foreign’,
‘decadent’, ‘illness’, ‘due to evil influence from
abroad’.” 
Consequently, ILGA specifically asked whether people
felt that same-sex desire was a western phenomenon; 47% of
respondents in Africa
said yes, 42% in Asia. 
But respondents in regions with countries
typically described as “western” also agreed with the statement –
24% in Europe, 21% in the Americas and 20% in Oceania.


Internationally however, the law is
shifting. 
ILGA has tracked the 70 states where it is now prohibited
to discriminate against an individual in employment on the basis of
sexual orientation (ie. 38% of all UN states).


The organization has also investigated
the rights of same-sex couples as spouses and parents in countries
around the world. In 26 states, joint adoption is legal and in 40
states marriage is available to same-sex couples and those marriages
have equal or almost equal legal standing as opposite-sex couples (in
six states, same-sex marriage exists but legally, is a clearly
inferior substitute to opposite-sex marriage).

Marriage and parenthood rights ILGA. Photograph: ILGA

There were also positive signs of
public opinion shifting. 
A third of all respondents said that in the
last five years their opinion on LGBTI people had become more
favorable. 
The most important factor contributing to a change of
opinion was knowing someone who was LGBTI.



Detailed country-by-country data is
available on ILGA’s site.






The Guardian