(NO) ROMAN HOLIDAY

STUDY: Majority Of Italian Gays Feel The Sting Of Discrimination

According to a new survey released this week, 75% of LGBT people in Italy have been discriminated against because of their sexuality or gender identity.

The multi-part study, part of the Niso Project, found that schools were the site of an overwhelming number—49%—of incidents of prejudice or harassment. That statistic was followed by the home (42%), bars and clubs (33%) and the media (30%).

The rate of discrimination could actually be worse than reported: Two of the surveys were conducted in the cosmopolitan city of Rome—one of LGBT people, and another of students from Belgium, Estonia, Italy and Holland.

You’d have to imagine it’s worse for gays in smaller cities or in less enlightened environments than academia.

The students from across Europe also believed you can tell if a man is gay just by looking at him: 40% believe that gay men have certain characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of society, mostly effeminacy and attention to appearance (32.4%).

“The task is to prevent, not just limiting itself to crocodile tears and press releases—[which are] becoming a way of cleansing your conscience—but preventing crimes from being committed,” said Niso Project leader Nicola Zingaretti, “and to educate based on a model of civil coexistence, of respect for others, that at times seems lost.”

 

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