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Nearly three-quarters of people believe the Government should allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood, according to new research commissioned by the National LGBT Federation.
The research, published on Tuesday, surveyed 760 people about their attitudes to LGBT+ people in Ireland.
The study found 70 per cent of people said men who have sex with men should be permitted to donate blood. At present this group can only donate blood if it has been at least four months since they last had sexual contact with a man, with this having recently been reduced from a 12-month wait.
The survey found a majority of people (55 per cent) felt the Government should extend gender recognition for trans children under 16 years of age, on the basis of parental consent, to allow them to have their preferred gender legally recognised.
Researchers found one in five people neither agreed or disagreed with such a move, which researchers said suggested people may not have enough information on the topic.
Two-thirds of those taking part in the study said the Government should ban the practice of so-called conversion therapy. More than four-fifths said sex and relationships education in schools should include information about LGBT+ people.
The research found slightly more than half of respondents said they “frequently” had interactions with people they knew were gay, lesbian or bisexual, while another one-third had “occasional” interactions. Some 2 per cent of respondents reported they had “never” interacted with a member of the LGBT+ community.
Only 9 per cent said they had frequent interactions with someone who was transgender, while two-thirds said they had either rarely or never interacted with someone who was trans.
More positive feelings
The survey found people on average reported more positive feelings about lesbian women and gay men than when talking about trans men and women, or people who were non-binary or intersex.
People aged 18-35 were on average more positive about the LGBT+ community, particularly about trans, non-binary or intersex people, than those aged over 66.
Some 54 per cent of those surveyed said that people who believed there were only two genders were wrong.
Just under three-quarters of those who took part in the research said gender was a “complicated issue”, that “does not always match up with biological sex”.
One-quarter of people felt the best way to raise a child was with a mother and father together, while six out of 10 people disagreed with this position.
Some 86 per cent of people said it was “perfectly okay” for people to have intimate relationships with others of the same sex. A majority (64 per cent) believed individuals did not choose their sexual orientation.
Negative attitudes
The research said while there was a belief negative attitudes to the LGBT+ community were “dying out”, it was clear they still existed, while a minority. The researchers said that it was important to acknowledge the existence of these opinions, while cautioning that their findings in this regard may be difficult to read.
Some of the negative comments provided to researchers criticised the discussion of gender issues, while another asked why straight people did not celebrate “a heterosexual day”, in reference to Pride. The study said this response indicated “a lack of understanding, or perhaps a denial, of the purposes of Pride”.
Adam Long, policy officer with the National LGBT Federation, said it was positive to see “overwhelming public support” for a ban on “the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called conversion therapy”.
The results of the study showed the Irish public “firmly supports socially progressive change and reform”, he said.
The LGBT Helpline is a non-judgmental and confidential service available on 1890-929539 or lgbt.ie. For confidential, non-judgmental support, call the Samaritans at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org