OVER the last nine years in Guyana, positive attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have increased significantly.

This is according to the findings of a 2022 poll called “A study of perceptions and attitudes towards LGBT Persons in Guyana” conducted by the RMK Consulting enterprise which was commissioned by the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD).

The national poll comes just shy of a decade after the first public opinion poll on LGBT people and issues which was done by the Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES) in 2013.

Since that time, results from the 2022 poll showed that LGBT acceptance in Guyana has soared moving from 19 per cent to 34.5 per cent with 72.4 per cent of respondents noting that they accept and tolerate LGBT persons.

These findings were revealed on Tuesday last by Dr Marlon Anatol, a researcher attached to RMK Consulting enterprise.

During his presentation, he mentioned that hatred of LGBT people had decreased by 50 per cent from 25 per cent in 2013 to 12 per cent in 2022. The researcher noted this as significant.

Also, in the findings of the poll, 49.6 per cent of respondents believe that the government should prioritise legally protecting the rights of LGBT people. The results further revealed that a large majority 53.9 per cent of the population are likely to support the elimination of the law criminalising sex between men.

Additionally, some 72 per cent of the population were likely to support legislation that ensures protection against workplace discrimination for LGBT persons in Guyana.

As such, Managing Director at SASOD, Joel Simpson stated that the results indicate that Guyana has changed significantly over the past decade and as such the society is ready for certain changes to be made.

Some 1,070 respondents were interviewed in person between June 18 and July 11, 2022 through a house-to-house exercise which took place in most regions across Guyana.

The sample, according to the director of RMK Consulting, Dr Mark Kirton was representative of the Guyanese population in terms of sex, age, race, religious affiliation and other demographics based on the 2012 National Census data for Guyana.