When I am planning my next overseas vacation, one consideration is how gay friendly the destination country is. When I am on vacation, I don’t want to have to worry about what the locals are thinking when I am walking in the streets with my boyfriend, or what the hotel front desk thinks when I ask for a double bed rather than two singles.
It’s not exactly good enough to just consider in which countries homosexuality is legal. Just because homosexuality is legal doesn’t necessarily mean that the locals accept homosexuality. You want to feel safe from both the people and the law.
A good way to assess the most gay friendly countries is to consider the percentage of people who are against homosexuality. In other words, if you pass by a hundred people in the street while holding your boyfriend’s hand, how many of those people would have an issue (even if they don’t voice their issue to you). I think if fewer than a third of people are against homosexuality, you should feed pretty safe. Peer pressure should keep the minority away.
Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project shows that the following countries are the most accepting:
The most gay friendly countries in the world. Source: Pew Research Center
The survey shows that Spain is the most gay friendly followed closely by Germany with only 6% and 8% of people disagreeing with homosexuality respectively. It has been legal to be gay, marry, adopt children and generally live an equal life for many years. Perhaps this is legacy from the more liberal Roman Empire.
Interestingly, although South Africa has also legalised gay marriage and has a strong constitution providing equal rights, 62% of people still have a moral issue with homosexuality. Which means you are going to feel more safe in the above 10 countries than you do at home.
The % of people in South Africa who have a moral issue with homosexuality. Source: Pew Research Center