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LGBTQ and acceptance
Understanding the 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.

FINDINGS

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.
 * 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.

As the title implies, the results indicated an increasing polarization of countries over the past three decades when it comes to LGBTQ acceptance. Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark were found to be the most accepting countries, and they were also the countries that made the greatest strides in terms of LGBTQ acceptance since 1980. The converse also holds — many of the least accepting countries, among them Saudi Arabia and Ghana, tended to become less accepting over the same time period.

Contrary to popular belief, “we are not necessarily seeing that every country is improving on its attitudes towards LGBT populations,” Andrew Flores, the lead author of the reports and a visiting scholar at the Williams Institute, told NBC News.

Flores said until recently, it has been difficult to gauge cross-national public opinion toward LGBTQ people. The various ways surveys ask about acceptance creates “inconsistency” when trying to draw comparisons, he explained. It’s for this reason that Flores and his fellow researchers developed the new “Global Acceptance Index.”

“The Global Acceptance Index provides a consistent and comparable way to measure attitudes and attitude change, which could better understand inclusion of LGBT people in many areas of social, economic, and political life,” Flores said in a statement published along with the reports.

Research indicates that social acceptance of LGBTQ people influences their physical and mental health, employment outcomes and political participation. Social exclusion of LGBTQ people, however, can lead to bullying, violence and harassment.

“Regrettably, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons are excluded from society in many countries,” a 2017 United Nations report stated. “The marginalization and peripheralization are part of a vicious cycle that gives rise to a host of other problems. The atmosphere that excludes people from the sociocultural environment inevitably lends itself to violence and discrimination.”

Ryan Thoreson, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, an international advocacy organization, stressed the importance of having an accurate picture of the global LGBTQ acceptance landscape.

“It is easy to slip into a progress narrative” when it comes to global LGBT rights, he said. However, in reality, “there can be trends in both directions.”

LEGAL INCLUSION
The Williams Institute’s second report, “Examining the Relationship Between Social Acceptance of LGBT People and Legal Inclusion of Sexual Minorities,” found a strong relationship between LGBTQ acceptance and what the report calls “legal inclusiveness.” Legal inclusiveness, according to the report, refers to the extent to which pro-LGBTQ policies — like decriminalization of homosexuality, relationship recognition and employment protections — have been adopted.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY

For LGBT people around the world, invisibility has been a double-edged sword. The closet provides a measure of protection from social condemnation, legal prohibition - or worse - violent attack. But the price is high – it means hiding fundamental aspects of the self, which takes its toll, both personally and socially. The ability to form community, to associate, organize and assemble are of great importance to LGBT groups around the world and yet these fundamental rights are often denied.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has increasingly championed the rights of LGBT people and those who defend them. At its 60th ordinary session in May, the commission emphasized the need to protect all human rights defenders, including those working for the protection of LGBT rights, and to ensure freedom of assembly rights for LGBT groups.

Despite these directives, Tanzania repeatedly threatened LGBT human rights defenders, along with other groups working on controversial issues, and raided meetings and workshops. Ugandan police raided and shut down the Queer Kampala International Film Festival, as well as a week of scheduled activities for annual Pride Week, while an Egyptian media regulatory body declared a media blackout on positive reporting on homosexuality.

In Turkey, the governor of Ankara imposed an indefinite ban on all public LGBT events in the province. In contrast, Bulgarian police stepped in to protect Sofia Pride from threatened disruptions by an ultra-nationalist, virulently homophobic group. Businesses in Singapore stepped up to the podium to support the annual Pink Dot festival after the government forbade sponsorship by multinational corporations.

Meanwhile, there were some positive developments, as courts in South Korea and Mozambique stepped in to facilitate the registration of LGBT groups.

MOVING FORWARD IN PERILOUS TIMES

For those who have been at the receiving end of state-sponsored crackdowns, there is cold comfort in seeing the stories of global progress that are incremental but significant. When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in an emotional address to a cheering parliament, apologized  for past injury to gender and sexual minorities, he sent a signal to the world that exclusion is not necessarily a permanent state of being and that governments can make amends for past discriminatory policies.

In a significant milestone, a group of experts issued the updated Yogyakarta + 10 principles, which provide guidelines for the interpretation and application of international human rights law regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. The principles will provide guidance for governments that are willing to reconsider their stance on LGBT rights. The 2016 launch of the Equal Rights Coalition, the first intergovernmental network to advance the rights of LGBT people, signifies a growing willingness of almost 40 member states to play a more proactive international role.