Eastern Europe was once a world lear on gay rights. Then ran out of spegoats | CNN

Contents:

• EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS
• AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)
• 10 GAYT COUNTRI EUROPE
• WHY EUROPE IS LBIAN AND GAY FRIENDLY (AND WHY AMERI NEVER WILL BE)
• POLAND STILL WORST UNTRY TO BE GAY THE EU: REPORT
• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• THE WORST COUNTRI TO BE GAY IN EUROPE

EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

The term “homosexualy, ” while sometim nsired anachronistic the current era, is the most applible and easily translatable term to e when askg this qutn across societi and languag and has been ed other cross-natnal studi, cludg the World Valu Survey. Dpe major chang laws and norms surroundg the issue of same-sex marriage and the rights of LGBT people around the world, public opn on the acceptance of homosexualy society remas sharply divid by untry, regn and enomic velopment. For example, some untri, those who are affiliated wh a relig group tend to be ls acceptg of homosexualy than those who are unaffiliated (a group sometim referred to as relig “non”).

For example, Swen, the Netherlands and Germany, all of which have a per-pa gross domtic product over $50, 000, acceptance of homosexualy is among the hight measured across the 34 untri surveyed. The study is a follow-up to a 2013 report that found many of the same patterns as seen today, although there has been an crease acceptance of homosexualy across many of the untri surveyed both years.

AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)

But sub-Saharan Ai, the Middle East, Rsia and Ukrae, few say that society should accept homosexualy; only South Ai (54%) and Israel (47%) do more than a quarter hold this view. However, while took nearly 15 years for acceptance to rise 13 pots om 2000 to jt before the feral legalizatn of gay marriage June 2015, there was a near equal rise acceptance jt the four years sce legalizatn. This staggerg 56-pot difference exceeds the next largt difference Japan by 20 pots, where 92% and 56% of those ag 18 to 29 and 50 and olr, rpectively, say homosexualy should be accepted by society.

In South Korea, for example, those who classify themselv on the iologil left are more than twice as likely to say homosexualy is acceptable than those on the iologil right (a 39-percentage-pot difference). In Spa, people wh a favorable opn of the Vox party, which recently has begun to oppose some gay rights, are much ls likely to say that homosexualy is acceptable than those who do not support the party.

10 GAYT COUNTRI EUROPE

And Poland, supporters of the erng PiS (Law and Jtice), which has explicly targeted gay rights as anathema to tradnal Polish valu, are 23 percentage pots ls likely to say that homosexualy should be accepted by society than those who do not support the erng party.

But even untri like France and Germany where acceptance of homosexualy is high, there are differenc between supporters and non-supporters of key right-wg populist parti such as Natnal Rally France and Alternative for Germany (AfD). Relign, both as relat to relative importance people’s liv and actual relig affiliatn, also plays a large role perceptns of the acceptabily of homosexualy many societi across the globe.

WHY EUROPE IS LBIAN AND GAY FRIENDLY (AND WHY AMERI NEVER WILL BE)

In 25 of the 34 untri surveyed, those who say relign is “somewhat, ” “not too” or “not at all” important their liv are more likely to say that homosexualy should be accepted than those who say relign is “very” important.

Among Israelis, those who say relign is not very important their liv are almost three tim more likely than those who say relign is very important to say that society should accept homosexualy.

For example, those who are religly unaffiliated, sometim lled relig “non, ” (that is, those who intify as atheist, agnostic or “nothg particular”) tend to be more acceptg of homosexualy.

POLAND STILL WORST UNTRY TO BE GAY THE EU: REPORT

Though the opns of religly unaffiliated people n vary wily, virtually every untry surveyed wh a sufficient number of unaffiliated rponnts, “non” are more acceptg of homosexualy than the affiliated. Koreans who are religly unaffiliated are about twice as likely to say that homosexualy should be accepted by society (60%) as those who are Christian (24%) or Buddhist (31%). Hungary’s hardle natnalist ernment passed a new law earlier this month banng ntent that “promot” homosexualy and genr change om beg shared wh children, effectively prohibg any discsn of LGBTQ them schools.

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

In dog so, Orbán has followed the playbook of Poland’s ernment, which has been chippg away at the rights of the LGBTQ muny for a number of years, adoptg discrimatory rhetoric and stokg homophobia. “There’s a real regrsn happeng many different untri, and rights that had been regnized are now beg challenged, ” said Evelyne Paradis, the executive director of the European branch of the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA-Europe). “You have plac like Germany, France, Spa where 85% or more say that homosexualy should be accepted by society and then once you’re past the dividg le, on the other si of the former Iron Curta, those numbers beg to fall pretty rapidly and then get even lower as you go to Rsia, ” he said.

“When you look at the former Eastern bloc, the untri had a long tradn of really progrsive legislatn towards LGBTQ rights, Poland for stance crimalized homosexualy 1932, which is really, really early, ” Kościańska said. On an afternoon Schöneberg, you’ll jo proud gay upl walkg the same historic streets where LGBTQ artists and activists once began the fight for gay rights, as early as the 1890s fact. You’ll fd a number of monuments around the cy memoratg the many LGBTQ victims of WWII, wh the Schwul Mm documentg the art, culture and history of Berl’s homosexual muny, which was long centred , Nollendorfplatz is still the place to be if you’d like to see the cy’s bt fetish clubs and leather bars, wh September brgg wh the Folsom Europe BDSM and subculture ftival.

As well as s progrsive lols and large gay muny, the cy self is a playground for gay travellers, most notably the Chue neighbourhood where there’s always some kd of event happeng. The third natn to legalize gay marriage back 2005, Spa’s pal has sce bee a mol for other untri, wh s equaly acts allowg for same-sex adoptn, marriage and legal safeguards agast discrimatn.

THE WORST COUNTRI TO BE GAY IN EUROPE

Drawn through wh waterways and nnected by hundreds of photogenic bridg, Amsterdam is the cy of the cyclist, allowg for scenic ris along the Prsengracht nal and the Amstel River which both bee awash wh para boats durg the annual gay nal pri. At all other tim, you n fd Amsterdam’s gay scene centred on Reguliersdwarsstraat, particularly at the cy’s olst gay bar, Cafe t’ Mandje, a popular late-night meetg pot wh kschy dér datg back to the 1920s. While explorg the cy, be sure to look for the Homomonument, a se promoted as a livg monument to homosexuals opprsed and persecuted around the world, also learng more of the cy’s LGBT history at the Pk Pot rmatn sk close by.

This area surroundg Old Compton Street central London remas the go-to place for 21st century gays, nstantly transformatn wh queer-oriented theatr, fés, sex shops and bookstor on every street. Copenhagen, DenmarkWh Denmark beg one of the first European natns to legalize same-sex marriage 2012 (and same-sex unns back 1989), ’s pal of Copenhagen certaly has the crentials to be crowned gay pal of Europe.