Scots 'less homophobic' but more likely to discriminate against immigrants

 

The number of Scots who are discriminatory against gay men and lesbians has almost halved since 2000, according to a survey.

However, researchers discovered that discrimination towards ethnic minorities and immigrants has increased slightly in the last 12 months.

The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey showed that 27% of Scots still thought same-sex relationships were "always or mostly" wrong. That figure is down from 48% in 2000.

And almost two-thirds of people questioned - 61% - supported same-sex marriage, compared with 41% in 2002.

The survey report reads: "For the most part, the survey found relatively little change since 2006 in the extent to which people express discriminatory attitudes.

"There were, however, two main exceptions to this: a further decline in discriminatory attitudes towards gay men and lesbians; and a small increase in the proportion who felt that people from ethnic minority groups and people from Eastern Europe take jobs away from other people in Scotland.

"The biggest and most rapid change in discriminatory attitudes in the last decade has been in views of gay men and lesbians. In 2000, 48% felt sexual relationships between two adults of the same sex were always or mostly wrong. By 2010 this figure had fallen to just over a quarter (27%)."

The survey goes on to say that the proportion of people who think that people from ethnic minority groups "take jobs away from Scots" increased slightly, from 27% in 2006 to 31% in 2010. The proportion of people with the same perception of those from Eastern Europe increased slightly from 32% to 37%.

Discrimination against gypsies, travellers and transgender people was also highlighted.

The survey shows 55% would be unhappy if someone who cross-dresses in public formed a relationship with a close family member, while 37% said the same of a gypsy or traveller.

In 2010 over one in four people – 28% - said they believed there was sometimes "good reason" to be prejudiced against particular groups.

But 66% of those surveyed think Scotland should do "everything it can" to get rid of prejudice.

According to the survey, less-educated people and older people are more likely than others to express prejudice and discriminatory views about particular groups.

The annual Scottish Social Attitudes Survey questions 1500 people on their attitudes to gender, age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation and transgender.

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