Global Acceptance Index - Williams Institute

RESEARCH THAT MATTERS

SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF LGBT PEOPLE IN 174 COUNTRIES 1981 TO 2017

OCTOBER 2019 Andrew R. Flores

Social Acceptance of LGBT People in 174 Countries, 1981 to 2017 | 1

CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Updates to the Global Acceptance Index ....................................................................................................... 2 Findings: Continued Polarization ..................................................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Understanding Acceptance and Exclusion ..................................................................................................... 4 Physical and mental health .......................................................................................................................... 5

DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................................................... 8 Current Public Opinion Data and its shortcomings ...................................................................................... 8

METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................................................................... 10 Description of data. Updates to an approach to measure opinion .......................................................... 10

FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Overall improvement: Patterns in acceptance ............................................................................................ 17 Most countries experienced some increase in acceptance ....................................................................... 17 The most accepting countries are becoming more accepting................................................................... 19 The least accepting countries are becoming less accepting ...................................................................... 20 Countries near the average have stayed the same..................................................................................... 21

FUTURE RESEARCH ................................................................................................................................................. 23 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................................................ 24

Appendix 1: Question wordings from global and regional survey data................................................... 24 Appendix 2: Trends in acceptance for each country................................................................................... 30 Appendix 3: Trends in acceptance for each country................................................................................... 38 Appendix 4: Significance test of four-year averages ................................................................................... 49 AUTHORS ................................................................................................................................................................. 50 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................... 50 Suggested Citation ........................................................................................................................................... 50

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report describes updates to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Global Acceptance Index (GAI), which seeks to measure the relative level of acceptance of LGBT people and issues in each country during a specific time period.

Understanding acceptance and rejection of LGBT people lies at the heart of understanding violence, discrimination, and a multitude of negative consequences arising from exclusion and unfair treatment. Sexual and gender minorities all over the world are heavily impacted by the attitudes and beliefs of those around them. Low levels of acceptance are tied to bullying and violence, physical and mental health problems, discrimination in employment, and underrepresentation in positions of civic leadership. Additionally, exclusion can result in lower levels of workforce productivity and decreased business profits.

UPDATES TO THE GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE INDEX

We updated the Global Acceptance Index to measure acceptance in 174 countries through 2017. We initially assessed 176 geographic locations (including countries and territories), but present results from 174 countries in this report. Acceptance is the extent to which LGBT people are seen in ways that are positive and inclusive, both with respect to an individual's opinions about LGBT people and with regards to an individual's position on LGBT policy. Updates included an expanded database of social surveys measuring acceptance of LGBT people in a larger number of countries (174 versus 123) and over additional years (through 2017 versus through 2014), as well as modifications to the estimation process to increase estimation accuracy.

FINDINGS: CONTINUED POLARIZATION

Globally, the average level of acceptance has increased from 1981. 131 of 174 countries experienced increases in acceptance from 1981. 16 countries experienced a decline. 27 countries experienced no change.

In the past decade, the range of levels of acceptance has increased. Levels of acceptance have become more polarized:

The most accepting countries have experienced increased levels of acceptance; Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada, and Spain are estimated to have the highest levels of acceptance between 2014-2017 and all have increased in their levels of acceptance.

The least accepting countries have experienced decreased levels of acceptance; Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, Senegal, Tajikistan, and Somaliland are estimated to have the lowest level of acceptance between 2014-2017 and all have decreased in their levels of acceptance.

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Levels of acceptance in countries near the global average have stayed relatively stable. Our previous report concluded that there was "polarized progress" in the trajectory of acceptance of LGBT people across the globe. The present report updates this by showing that the degree of polarization has lessened. Substantially more countries increased on acceptance than countries that have decreased. While some polarization remains, the updated estimates suggest increases in LGBT acceptance are far more common than decreases.

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INTRODUCTION

UNDERSTANDING ACCEPTANCE AND EXCLUSION

Social attitudes about LGBT people can heavily influence whether LGBT people are accepted or rejected by employers, family members, teachers, clergy, and society in general.1 Negative beliefs about LGBT people can serve as the basis for the impulse to reject and exclude LGBT people,2 all too often leading to violence and discrimination against LGBT people.3 These shared beliefs are stigmas, which can be generally understood as a belief about a person based on a characteristic, or mark, of a person.4 Powerful forces in society, such as tradition, religion, law, medicine, and the media can contribute to the existence of beliefs about LGBT people.5 In some cultural settings, being LGBT carries with it the stigma that underlies a belief that the LGBT person is sick, immature, unskilled, sinful, or generally undesirable.6 Anti-LGBT stigma can lead to the exclusion of LGBT people from full participation in society. Not only can societal stigma affect how individuals view LGBT people, but it can also influence how people view laws and policies relevant to LGBT populations.7 LGBT people may face rejection from others at an interpersonal level, as well as exclusion, because of stigmatizing and discriminatory laws and policies.8 Acceptance, on the other hand, is the extent to which LGBT people are seen in ways that are positive and inclusive, both with respect to an individual's opinions about LGBT people and with regards to an individual's attitudes about LGBT rights. As defined here, acceptance is a broad concept which encompasses social beliefs about LGBT people, as well as prevailing opinion about laws and policies relevant to protecting LGBT people from violence and discrimination and promoting their equality and well-being.

The Global LGBT Acceptance Index (GAI) incorporates survey data about public beliefs regarding LGBT people and policies in order to come up with a single country-level score for acceptance. Acceptance, as

1 Gregory M. Herek, "Confronting Sexual Stigma and Prejudice: Theory and Practice." Journal of Social Issues 63, no. 4 (2007): 905-925. 2 Gregory M. Herek, "Sexual Stigma and Sexual Prejudice in the United States: A Conceptual Framework," in Contemporary Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities, D. A. Hope (ed.), 54, p. 65-111 (New York, NY: Springer, 2009); Judit Tak?cs, Social Exclusion of Young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People in Europe (Brussels, BE and Amsterdam, NL: ILGA-EUROPE and IGLYO, 2006). 3 A. Theron, "Anti-Gay Violence and Discrimination: The Need for Legislation Against Anti-Gay Hate Crimes in the Sociopolitically Changing South Africa." ACTA Criminologica 7, no. 3 (1994): 107-114. 4 Gregory M. Herek, "Confronting Sexual Stigma and Prejudice: Theory and Practice;" Gregory M. Herek, "Sexual Stigma and Sexual Prejudice in the United States." 5 Amy Adamczyk, Cross-National Public Opiion about Homosexuality: Examining Attitudes across the Globe (Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2017). 6 Erving Goffman, Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, (New York, NY: Penguin, 1963). 7 Gregory M. Herek. "Beyond `Homophobia': Thinking about Sexual Prejudice and Stigma in the Twenty-First Century." Sexuality Research & Social Policy 1, no. 2 (2004): 6-24. 8 Mark L. Haztenbuehler, K. M. Keyes, and D. S. Hayes. "State-level Politics and Psychiatric Morbidity in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations." American Journal of Public Health 99, no. 12 (2009): 2275-2281.

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measured in the GAI, is a country's average societal attitude toward LGBT people that is expressed in public attitudes and beliefs about LGBT people and rights.

Understanding the Consequences of a Lack of Acceptance and Exclusion

The stigma faced by LGBT people has been linked to violence and discrimination against LGBT people9,10 and decreases in economic growth and productivity.11,12 In order to understand these linkages more deeply, development practitioners need data that is comparable across different time points and different countries. As explained below, current survey data do not provide us with such an opportunity because of the variability in the ways that surveys assess public attitudes about LGBT people. The following kinds of inquiries are made more possible if there are data that can be consistently compared both across time and place.

Physical and mental health The connection between stigma, prejudice, and health has been well-documented throughout the world. According to the minority stress model, articulated by psychologist Ilan Meyer13, PhD., Williams Senior Distinguished Scholar, the stigma and prejudice experienced by sexual and gender minorities produces stress and anxiety that is different than the types of stress faced by most people in their everyday life.14 In response to events of prejudice in their life, sexual and gender minorities frequently develop a fear and expectation that such events will happen again. This expectation leads to hypervigilance in one's surroundings, relationships, and interactions with others, even when stigma and prejudice may not be in operation.15 The individual begins to develop additional coping mechanisms, such as identity concealment or other strategies to mitigate the negative consequences of stigma and prejudice. These processes can lead to internalization of social stigma, in the form of internalized homophobia or transphobia, where individuals begin to devalue themselves in a manner consistent with the prejudice being directed at them by others.16

9 Gregory M. Herek, "Confronting Sexual Stigma and Prejudice: Theory and Practice;" Gregory M. Herek, "Sexual Stigma and Sexual Prejudice in the United States." 10 The World Bank Group, Discrimination against Sexual Minorities in Education and Housing: Evidence from Two Field Experiments in Serbia (Washington, DC: The World Bank Group, 2017). 11 M.V. Lee Badgett, Sheila Nezhad, Kees Waaldijk, and Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, The Relationship between LGBT Inclusion and Economic Development: An Analysis of Emerging Economies (Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute, 2014). 12 The World Bank Group, Life on the Margins: Survey Results of the Experiences of LGBTI People in Southeastern Europe (Washington, DC: The World Bank Group, 2018). 13llan H. Meyer, Williams Distinguished Senior Scholar for Public Policy, Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law. 14David M. Frost and Meyer, l.H., "Internationalized Homophobia and Relationship Quality Among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals," Journal of Counseling Psychology 56, no. 1(2009): 97-109. 15Jennifer Crocker. "Social Stigma and Self-Esteem: Situational Construction of Self-Worth." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 35, no. 1 (1999): 89-107 cited in llan Meyer, "Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence," Psychological Bulletin 129, no. 5 (2003): 674-697. 16One of the first studies on this issue can be found at Gilbert H. Herdt. Children of Horizons: How Gay and Lesbian Teens Are Leading a New Way Out of the Closet (Boston: Beacon Press, 1996), 205.

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The impact of minority stress on LGBT people is reflected in poor health outcomes. A systematic review of 199 studies in the Global North and South showed that sexual minorities were at increased risk for depression, anxiety, suicide attempts, or suicides.17 However, such global reviews are rare. Though the connection between stigma and health outcomes is well established, there is still a great need to understand how stigma impacts specific populations at the national level. Establishing an acceptance index enhances the ability of researchers to examine the stigma/health connection on a country-bycountry basis, as well as across countries.

Bullying and violence Exclusion of LGBT people can also manifest in the form of bullying, violence, and harassment.18,19 In a major study in Thailand, half of self-identified LGBT students report having been bullied, leading to absenteeism rates twice as high as other students, increased dropout rates, and mental and physical problems.20 According to the Inter-American Commission, LGBT people face "high levels of cruelty and heightened levels of violence."21 The UN Independent Expert on the protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity reports that such violence occurs in all parts of the world.22

Though it is clear that violence against LGBT people exists, there is currently no method to track violence on a country-by-country basis. We currently lack a uniform definition of violence and a mechanism to collect statistics about violence worldwide and, thus, are unable to examine its relationship with LGBT social acceptance. To the extent that violence is related to levels of acceptance of LGBT people, the creation of an LGBT acceptance index can help inform discussions about violence.

17 The study included 199 studies which had a heterosexual comparison group. 26 studies had nationally representative studies using clinical interviews. Martin Ploderl and Pierre Tremblay, "Mental Health of Sexual Minorities. A Systematic Review," International Review of Psychiatry 27, no. 5 (2015): 367-85. 18 Gregory M. Herek, "Confronting Sexual Stigma and Prejudice: Theory and Practice;" Gregory M. Herek, "Sexual Stigma and Sexual Prejudice in the United States." 19 Exclusion and stigma have been used interchangeably, see M.V. Lee Badgett, The Economic Cost of Stigma and the Exclusion of LGBT People: A Case Study of India. World Bank Group Working Paper, no. 94040 (Washington, DC: The World Bank Group, 2014). 20Pimpawun Boonmongkon et al., Bullying Targeting Secondary School Students Who Are or Are Perceived to Be Transgender or Same-Sex Attracted: Types, Prevalence, Impact, Motivation and Preventive Measures in 5 Provinces of Thailand (Salaya: Mahidol University, Plan International Thailand, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Bangkok Office, 2014), 81. 21Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, "Press Release 153114: IACHR Expresses Concern over Pervasiveness of Violence against LGBTI Persons and Lack of Data Collection by OAS Member States," December 17, 2014, en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2014/153.asp; Idem, "Press Release 153114, Annex: An Overview Of Violence Against LGBTI Persons," December 17, 2014, r/lgtbi/docs/An nex-Registry-ViolenceLGBTI.pdf. 22 Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly, Report of the Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, 2017, A/HRC/35/36, Geneva, CH: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, .

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Employment discrimination The economic potential of LGBT people is also limited by exclusion from the workplace, educational opportunities, and economic advantages which can be accessed by others.23 An international review of studies reveals that sexual minorities face two kinds of discrimination. Firstly, they face exclusion when seeking to enter the workplace. Secondly, once on the job, LGBT people face harassment and few opportunities for advancement.24 According to a cross-national meta-analysis, gay men make 11 percent less than their heterosexual counterparts.25 Although there is growing attention to the impact of employment discrimination, there has never been a study of the relationship between societal acceptance and employment discrimination experienced by LGBT people. An acceptance index makes such an inquiry possible.

Civic Participation Finally, exclusion can limit the ability of LGBT people to participate in civic institutions and political leadership roles. For example, throughout the world, sexual and gender minorities are drastically underrepresented in elected positions. In one study, LGBT people occupied, at most, only six percent of all seats in the upper legislative houses globally.26 Socio-cultural factors including acceptance and dominant religious orientation of a country, and institutional factors such as representation systems, were major determinants of whether LGBT people were elected into legislative bodies.27

23 Badgett, Nezhad, Waaldijk, and Rodgers, The Relationship between LGBT Inclusion and Economic Development. 24Ozeren Emir, "Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace: A Systematic Review of Literature. Procedia, Sexual and Behavioral Sciences," Procedia-Sexual and Behavioral Sciences 109 (2014): 1203-1215, 1208-10. 25Marieka Klawitter, "Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Sexual Orientation on Earnings," Industrial Relations 54, no. 1 (2014): 432, 21. 26 Andrew Reynolds. "Representation and Rights: The Impact of LGBT Legislators in Comparative Perspective." American Political Science Review 107, no. 2 (2013): 259-274. 27 Ibid.

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