A world opening up?
A survey found that majority of people (60%) want for their countries to do more to protect and support transgender people. This is particularly true for people in Spain (70%) and Argentina (67%). More specific support is deemed needed from the government needs to protect trans people from discrimination (70%), with a majority of every country in the nationally representative markets agreeing.
Just over 50% of respondents in the US (51%) and France (52%) would like to see their country do more to protect and support trans individuals. The people from Poland (39%), Hungary and Japan (both 41%) least likely agreed with the sentiment.
The survey was done by Ipsos in its global survey vehicle Global Advisor. The data was collected online between October 24th and November 7th, 2017 and included the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the US.
To look at the extent to which global citizens are aware of the correct pronoun usage for trans people, Ipsos developed two questions to ask, and then administered them countries where English is the primary language (Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the US). Ipsos found that – in these countries – approximately two in five report referring to trans men as ‘he’ and trans women as ‘she’, rather than using the pronoun used at their birth. Approximately one in five would use the neutral pronoun of ‘they’. Americans are most likely to use the pronoun of the trans person at birth, with 22% reporting they would refer to a trans woman as ‘he’ and 21% reporting referring to a trans man as ‘she’. People from Australia (13% and 14%, respectively), Canada (14% for each), and Great Britain (12% and 13%, respectively) were less likely to use the pronoun of a trans person at birth.
The pro-trans stance may also be said to already be happening in many countries around the world, with six in 10 people (or 59%) believing that their country is becoming more tolerant of trans people. This perception is strongest in Argentina (78%), Canada (78%), and Great Britain (75%). People in Sweden (73%), Australia (71%), and the US (71%) also believe their countries are becoming more tolerant of trans people. However, people in Hungary (31%), Poland (41%), and Japan (43%) said that their countries are not becoming more tolerant of trans people.
A majority of people (60%) also believe that trans people are brave. People in Spain (74%), Argentina (70%), and Great Britain (69%) are most likely to agree with the sentiment, while those in Japan (38%) and Hungary (48%) are least likely to agree with this.
Also, considering “the range of (mis)perceptions that exist about transgender people” Ipsos and BuzzFeed, in discussion with the Williams Institute, developed a series of questions in 2016 to better understand how people perceive and understand the concept and emergence of trans individuals.
For this, a majority of people in countries surveyed (52%) believe that trans people are a natural occurrence. This belief is most commonly held in Spain (64%) and Germany (60%). People in Hungary (44%), Italy (45%), and Japan (48%) are the least likely to believe this. Among Western countries, the US is most likely to believe that trans people have a mental illness (32%) and the most likely out of all countries surveyed to believe that trans people are committing a sin (32%). Americans are the most likely to say that society has gone too far in allowing people to dress and live as one sex even though they were born another (36%), while people in Japan are least likely to agree with this sentiment (9%).
Even with the progress, all too obviously much work still needs to be done to promote respect of trans rights.
