| Subject: | Gender and sex equality |
| Topic: | Gay and lesbian issues |
A report said that popular acceptance of homosexuality had increased throughout the whole of Europe since the start of the 1980s. In 1981, roughly half the European population disapproved of homosexuality, but this had fallen to one-third by 2008. In the early 1990s, 40 per cent of Europeans did not want gay neighbours: by 2008 this had fallen to 25 per cent.
Source: Lisette Kuyper, Jurjen Iedema, and Saskia Keuzenkamp, Towards Tolerance: Exploring changes and explaining differences in attitudes towards homosexuality in Europe, Netherlands Institute for Social Research
Links: Report | NISR press release
Date: 2013-May
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to enable same-sex couples to marry in civil ceremonies; ensure that those religious organizations that wished to do so could opt in to conduct marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples; and protect those religious organizations that did not wish to marry same-sex couples from successful legal challenge.
Source: Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, Government Equalities Office, TSO | Debate 21 May 2013, columns 1071-1173, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOL research brief | Stonewall press release | BBC report | Guardian report | PinkNews report
Date: 2013-May
A survey examined how lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) people in the European Union experienced discrimination, harassment, and violence in different areas of life. Almost half (47 per cent) of all respondents said that they had felt personally discriminated against or harassed on the grounds of sexual orientation in the year preceding the survey. A majority of respondents who had been attacked said that the attack or threat of violence happened partly or entirely because they were perceived to be LGBT (59 per cent). Respondents rarely, however, reported discrimination or violence to the authorities, mainly because they believed that nothing would happen or change if they did.
Source: European Union Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Survey, European Agency for Fundamental Rights
Links: Report | FRA press release
Date: 2013-May