MOST SOUTH AFRICANS HOMOPHOBIC
Despite the country boasting a constitution that provides protection for sexual minorities, a new study has revealed that over 80% of South Africans believe that homosexuality is wrong, reports the Sunday Times.
The information is contained in the annual South African Social Attitudes Survey, which is released by the Human Sciences Research Council.
While disapproval of homosexuality is highest among people older than 24, researchers Ben Roberts and Vasu Reddy said that the vast majority of people across all age groups do not approve of same-sex relationships.
The study found that highly educated and urban people tended to have a more positive view of homosexuality compared to more rural, less educated people. The report also found that homosexuality continues to be seen as “un-African.”
The Human Sciences Research Council has been conducting the South African Social Attitudes Survey on an annual basis since August 2003. It is a nationally representative sample survey that gathers information on the public’s attitudes, beliefs, behaviour patterns and values.
very true. Yeap, the study may be real, but not 2 long ago,the minority of SA’s population believed, only whites people were humans. The rest is history, we still got a long walk, but we will get there. I’m now fall into the new pc “currently dis-advantage race group” hehehehehe.
80% gay. it makes sense because most males are having fantasies on male encounter and it scares them to hell and hence homophobia
…… The survey doesn’t mention how many people were questioned so are we talking about 80% of 2000, 3000, 10 000 people? Or was every single adult from 18 and older questioned? (a task I fear is near impossible?) So how is this survey a “nationally representative sample.” You cannot go around questioning pockets of the population and then report that 80% of South Africans (to me that means the entire +45 million of us) disagrees with same-sex relationships.
This survey represents a small portion of the population that clearly need to be educated about respect, tolerance and allowing others to live their lives in accordance with the law. All it shows is that our work as gay and lesbian people is far from over.
Representative sample. It’s a nationally representative SAMPLE of the POPULATION. Of course it’s not going to be precisely and exactly accurate…but they are also not just interviewing “pockets of the population”…then it wouldn’t be a representatieve sample. Sampling is a complex process…especially random sampling. At the end of it you have a group of people who represent in the best way possible, the DEMOGRAPHIC of the broader population. So because – as you say – it is impossible to actually interview every single member of the SA population…this sample that’s been taken is the best possible indicator. Of course if you resample and end up with different people the results will be slightly different, but that’s just the nature of the game…and it is taken into account when doing research.
….. Um, I think I know the meaning of the word sample, thank you. My question was exactly how many people were sampled in this survey to get this so-called 80% figure? This is what the survey doesn’t say. So the figure reached could only be taken from 500, 1000, 2000 people and therefore not really an accurate figure on what the population’s feelings are towards same-sex relationships. You cannot sample small portions of the population and then generalise that because X amount of people are against homosexuality then so must be the rest of the population. The results – as well as how they were undertaken and how many people were surveyed – need to be published as well. Were the questions objective? Have a religious undertone? And which “group of people” were chosen to “represent … the broader population?” Were they chosen at random? What was their background? Were more people chosen from rural areas than urban and vice versa? What was their education? Economics? Diversity? Were the creators of this survey objective?
I understand that not all these things can be published when doing a survey such as this but it helps to understand how the creators reached such a shocking conclusion.
If surveys aren’t “precisely and exactly accurate” then what is the point of a survey? The conclusion of this particular survey could be based on no more than just random question asking and answering. And let’s face it, anybody with a clipboard and a pen in their local Pick ‘n Pay can do that!
Load of tripe. The survey speaks volumes about the mentality of people. It says 80% are intolerant.
It’s time to fight back. If we don’t then we will soon loose the rights we’ve fought for. I for one don’t – and will not – live in a country where my sexual orientation is a crime (like it is in a vast majority of other African countries). It’s about education, acceptance, and we as gay and lesbian people have a long way to go.
InTheKnow stop justifying the results of the report and start thinking of ways to reduce the certainly questionable conclusion of this survey.
To vague. Even if it is a sample it is still way to vague and subject to too much personal opinion for it to be even remotely accurate. Surveys such as this need to be transparent! This one is clearly riddle with so many holes that I believe Homer Simpson said it best when he said, “Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forty percent of all people know that.”
Subjective?. This figure is a bit fague and subjective to personal discretion and opinion. I personally do not believe in the figure as stated. More information is definately to indicate that this statement is true. Its all about the evidence, and to print such statements does not only put “moffies” on guard with their high-heals and lipsticks, but enrage those non-homophobes that believe in the rights of people and each to his own
Religious influence. I may offend some with what I’m about to say, but it’s a fact that the majority of this country is religious in some sense, 80% of those probably with Christian or Islamic influences and let’s be honest, it’s drilled into them from a very young age that “God doesn’t condone -that- kind of behaviour”. I don’t really blame Christianity or Islam on their own, but more the way they are used by unscrupulous fundamentalists to drum up support for their own hate and intolerance.
homophobic. try being gay on the east rand! i often wish i had a hidden camera to film peoples reactions when my girlfriend and i walk hand in hand through the east rand mall. y
et a few km’s down the rd at east gate no-one even gives us a second glance. very strange