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Western countries most favorable to gays, African countries least favorable: Gallup

(Xinhua)    09:29, August 28, 2014
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 27  -- Hospitable attitudes toward gays range widely worldwide, from as high as 83 percent in the Netherlands to as low as 1 percent in Senegal, with Africa in general unfavorable toward gays, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.` The Netherlands, where more than eight in 10 residents say their local communities are good places for gays or lesbians to live, was also the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.

As of 2013, other European nations also told Gallup their countries are good places for gays to live, with Iceland coming in second at 82 percent, Spain at 79 percent, the United Kingdom at 77 percent and Belgium at 74 percent.

In general, residents of wealthier Western countries where gays and lesbians continue to thrive, both legally and culturally, are more likely to say their communities are good places for them to live. In many places, growing acceptance of same-sex relationships has resulted in greater legal rights and protections for gay and lesbian people, which in turn may advance the idea that such communities are good places for them to live.

In sharp contrast, African countries are not viewed as hospitable to gays. For example, "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex," as Senegal's anti-gay law dictates, can be punished with up to five years in prison and fines of up to 3,000 U.S. dollars.

Laws that allow for the imprisonment of gay and lesbian people are also on the books in Pakistan -- where 1 percent say their area is a good place for gay people to live. Uganda came in at 2 percent and Ethiopia at 2 percent, Gallup said.

Of the countries or areas where residents are most likely to say their city or area is "not a good place" for gay and lesbian people, Senegal topped the list at 98 percent, Malawi at 96 percent, Gabon at 95 percent, Niger at 95 percent, Mali at 95 percent and Uganda at 95 percent.

With passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda, for example, same-sex intimacy was punishable by life in prison, although a Ugandan court later struck it down, Gallup found.

The perception that their local communities are not hospitable to gay and lesbian people is widely shared throughout the African sub-continent.

South Africa may be the sole exception, with nearly half of the population saying their community is a good place for gay or lesbian people to live, but a slight majority of 51 percent say the country is "not a good place" for gays.

The country was the first and only in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage in 2006, according to Gallup. 

(Editor:Liang Jun、Zhang Qian)
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