Statistics on Discrimination of Homosexuals

Content

1. Acceptance of homosexuality
2. Acceptance of same-sex marriage
3. Legality of same-sex marriage
4. Legality of homosexuality
5. Homosexuals in the military
6. Homosexuals raising children
7. Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
8. Numbers of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender

1. Acceptance of homosexuality

Increased acceptance of homosexuality is likely to lead to a reduction of discrimination. For instance, if homosexuality is considered to be morally acceptable by a large majority, then support for discriminatory policies such as laws prohibiting same-sex marriage (see below) will decrease. Over the last centuries and especially the last decades, acceptance of homosexuality has increased, as is shown by the graphs below:

(source)

A substantial majority in most Western countries believes that homosexuality is something that should be accepted.

Here are some more details and breakdowns for the US:

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Given the fact that younger cohorts are more tolerant, it’s not surprising to see the rates evolve in this way:

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(source, data for the U.S.)

(source, data for the U.S.)

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This improvement shouldn’t obscure the fact that there’s still  long way to go. A large minority of U.S. citizens still disapprove. Take also a look at this graph:

(source, data for the U.S.)

International public opinion is as follows:

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2. Acceptance of same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage as well is becoming more acceptable. The following graphs show the evolution of public support for same-sex marriage in the U.S.:

(source)

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Here’s a breakdown by religious affiliation:

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And a breakdown by political orientation:

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This is the breakdown by race (still only for the U.S.):

And here’s a state-by-state breakdown for the U.S.:

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3. Legality of same-sex marriage

Policies on gay marriage are highly congruent with preferences – pretty much, gay marriage is legal where more than 50% of the people support it, and illegal where the policy has less than 50% support. (source)

(source)

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The legality worldwide of same-sex marriage is thus:

(source, source, these numbers do not include domestic partnerships and other arrangements that are somewhat equivalent to, but clearly distinguished from, marriage)

Only a small percentage – about 3.7 – of the total global population lives in a jurisdiction that allows same-sex marriage, but the increase is encouraging.

The large increase in 2008 in the numbers for the US (the green area, pushing up the yellow area for South Africa, where the numbers did not actually rise in 2008), followed by a similarly large decrease was due to the recognition by California courts of same-sex marriages, and the following reversal resulting from “Prop 8“, a popular vote that abolished the right. (The most recent turn of events is that Prop 8 has been judged unconstitutional by a Californian Court).

(source)

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4. Legality of homosexuality

Some 80 countries still criminalize consensual homosexual sex, or “sodomy” as it’s often called (more strange names for homosexual sex here). Punishment can include flogging, imprisonment, and in about a dozen jurisdictions, the death penalty. Of the seven countries that impose the death penalty for homosexuality, all are Muslim. The following map shows the status of homosexuality laws in the world:

Here are the numbers of countries and states that have decriminalized homosexuality over the pasrt centuries:

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(source, click image to enlarge)

In many countries that have legalized homosexual behavior there are still large minorities that believe homosexual sex should be a crime. Take the US for instance:

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5. Homosexuals in the military

This still seems to be a big deal, at least in the U.S.

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Where gays can openly serve in the military:

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6. Homosexuals raising children

Again, I only have data on the U.S.:

(source)

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7. Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity

Laws on employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

seek to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, physical disability, and age by employers. A growing body of law also seeks to prevent employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Discriminatory practices include bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, compensation, retaliation, and various types of harassment. (source)

In the U.S., many states have laws that protect all public employees against employment discrimination, including discrimination of people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Many large cities and other localities have similar rules. A minority of states ban this type of discrimination in private employment: 21 states plus DC have laws banning discrimination in private employment that also cover sexual orientation, and 15 plus DC have laws that also cover gender identity.

Here’s a map showing those 21 and 15 states:

Legislation prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and Gender Identity in private employment

(source)

And here’s a map showing legislation covering both private and public employment:

Legislation Prohibiting Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

(source)

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8. Numbers of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender

In order to know how many people are potentially affected by discrimination, it’s useful to know how many identify as homosexual, bisexual or transgender. Here are some numbers for the U.S.:

[D]emographer Gary Gates, who works for the Williams Institute at UCLA’s School of Law, has compiled the results from nine surveys that attempt to measure sexual orientation — five of them from the U.S. He estimates that 3.5% of the U.S. population identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, while 0.3% are transgender. … He also points out that bisexual identification is generally more common among women than among men. (source)

These are numbers based on self-identification. If, on the other hand, people are asked about sexual attraction and sexual behavior, the numbers are higher:

11% of Americans ages 18-44 report any same-sex sexual attraction, while 8.8% report any same-sex sexual behavior. (source)

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