“A number of developing countries were decades ahead of the United States in legalizing homosexual sex and ensuring gay marriage rights, but they aren’t given much credit,” said Kenny. That means that those advocating for policy changes are playing an enormous role – changing not just laws but attitudes as well across the globe. 56% of countries where homosexuality is illegal are former British colonies, and 71% of former British colonies criminalize homosexuality.Īs law change so do social attitudes and norms. When examining differing colonial origins of developing nations, former British colonies lag behind in legalizing homosexuality. For example, looking at Eastern European Block nations, eyeing admission into the European Union and the international community, attitudes changed quickly to match the EU consensus on gay and lesbian equality. International social norms influenced social norms in developing nations. In the last three decades the proportion of the world that report they do not want to live next to a gay or lesbian individual has dropped by about ten percentage points. And legal change is not only a positive step in itself, it can also help shift attitudes.”Īs of May 2017, there were 124 countries without any legal penalties for homosexuality, compared to 72 countries that criminalize same-sex sexual activity. “But our research makes clear that in the developing world as a whole, both laws and attitudes are changing for the better. Even where it is not illegal, gays and lesbians face violence, discrimination, and social stigma,” said Charles Kenny. In some countries, people are still imprisoned and even killed because of their sexual orientation. “Improving rights for gays and lesbians is a critical human rights issue. Legality of homosexuality across the globe The study also includes data visualizations that show legal trends over time and geography.
Media Relations study, “Norms and Reform: Legalizing Homosexuality Improves Attitudes” uses public opinion data on this issue from the Gallup World Poll and the World Values Survey and matches changes in attitudes over time with the timeline of laws concerning same-sex decriminalization.
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