Homophobia around the World

The International Lesbian and Gay Association’s 2008 report on state-sponsored homophobia says that to be lesbian or gay risks jail time in 86 countries and death penalty in seven.

The research deals only with legislation criminalising consensual sexual acts between persons of the same sex in private above the age of consent. In addition to those 86 countries, there are six provinces or territorial units which also punish homosexuality with imprisonment, said ILGA.

"Although many of the countries listed in the report do not systematically implement those laws, their mere existence reinforces a culture where a significant portion of the citizens needs to hide from the rest of the population out of fear," said Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, co-secretary general of ILGA. "A culture where hatred and violence are justified by the state and force people into invisibility or into denying who they truly are."

"Whether exported by colonial empires or the result of legislations culturally shaped by religious beliefs, if not deriving directly from a conservative interpretation of religious texts, homophobic laws are the fruit of a certain time and context in history. Homophobia is cultural, not inborn. People learn it as they grow."

This year, a list of countries according to their legislations affecting lesbian and gay people has also been included. This allows readers to get a quick and comprehensive overview on the legal situation in the world, from countries penalising homosexual activity with death penalty to the few ones allowing adoption for same-sex couples. Along the same lines, ILGA has published a map on gay rights that can be used to raise awareness of people on the many laws affecting gay people in the world.

Philipp Braun, co-secretary general of ILGA, said: "In many cases, prejudice against homosexual people is the result of ignorance and fear. This long catalogue of horrors is but a tale of the intolerance against what is foreign and different. Decriminalisation of same sex activity is as urgent as ever. The fight for the respect of every minority has to be everyone’s fight. We believe that the recognition of sexual minorities as components of our civil societies and the acknowledgement of the equality of their human rights can contribute to learning how to live together, that is, the learning of democracy."

"It is important to set this debate where it belongs: on the human rights agenda. Altogether 60 countries have publicly supported sexual orientation as an issue at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights/Human Rights Council since 2003.
ILGA's 2008 report on state homophobia around the world is available at http://www.ilga.org/

Photo: On July 19th 2005, Iranian teenagers Mahmoud Asgari, 15 and Ayaz Marhoni, 17, were hanged for perverting Islamic law.

Furthermore, the Pew Research Center carried out a global survey in 2014, called Global Attitudes Project, asking:  Do you personally believe that homosexuality is morally acceptable, morally unacceptable, or is it not a moral issue in your country? Half or more in most of the 40 nations polled say that homosexuality is unacceptable. Nine-in-ten or more hold this view in seven nations. However, Europeans are much less likely to say homosexuality is unacceptable – this is especially true in Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Britain, and Italy, where about 20% or fewer express this opinion. Click on link for statistics results.