If it seems like the world is growing more tolerant with each passing year, appearances can be deceiving. If anything, the majority of people around the globe still hold anti-LGBTI views. A sweeping new study released Tuesday by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) revealed people the world over still largely have prejudiced opinions about LGBTI people.
The study being released on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is no accident. May 17 commemorates the World Health Organization's decision in 1990 to no longer classify homosexuality as a mental illness.
How far has society progressed since that accomplishment? 96,331 participants from 65 countries completed ILGA's survey, which asked about views when it came to LGBTI people and their rights. Overall, respondents tended not to favor marriage equality and admitted they would have a hard time if their child was attracted to someone of the same-sex. In fact, 68 percent of the world said they would be upset if their child was in love with a same-sex partner.
As for same-sex marriage, only 32 percent of the world was in favor, with 45 percent against it. 23 percent said they didn't have an opinion one way or the other.
Looking at a country-by-country breakdown, Oceania has a much more tolerant view. Nearly half the population believed in marriage equality, compared to 31% of North and South America.
That hasn't stopped countries from pursuing legal equality when it comes to marriage. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to legalize gay marriage, and even the heavily religious country Ireland voted to allow gay marriage that same year. China, however, threw out its very first same-sex marriage court case in April.
Flipping the idea of equality on its head, the survey asked whether being LGBTI should be a crime. Not surprisingly, many countries in Africa and the Middle East responded in the affirmative. That's where the majority of criminalization takes place, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and more all predominantly agreed homosexuality was a crime. As for North and South America, only 15% of the population agreed while 60% disagreed.
On the bright side, the study found that people's intolerance tended to diminish if they personally knew someone who identified as LGBTI.
