1. 1
11111111
LGBTI PUBLIC
OPINION POLL
WESTERN BALKANS
JUNE/JULY 2015
1 © 2015 Ipsos.

2. 2 © 2015 Ipsos.
METHODOLOGY

3. 3
GENERAL POPULATION
Implementation: Research conducted in June 2015.
Sample framework: General population, adults 18+
Sample type:
Three-stage stratified random representative sample
First stage: The territory of polling stations
Second stage: Households (SRSWoR – random steps)
Third stage: Respondents within households (Kish grid)
Sample size:
Serbia: 1025
Macedonia: 1044
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1052
Kosovo: 1221
Albania: 1044
Montenegro: 1050
Research type: Field survey – Face to face; average interview length 25 min
Post-stratification: By gender, age and region
Error margins: ±1.4 % with the incidence of 5%
±2.8 % with the incidence of 25%
±3.3 % with the incidence of 50%

4. 4
LGBTI COMMUNITY – Online Survey
Implementation: Research conducted at the end of June and early July 2015.
Sample framework: Online LGBTI Population
Sample size:
Serbia: 180
Macedonia: 237
Montenegro: 78
Bosnia & Herzegovina: 67
Kosovo: 21
Albania: 72
Sample type: Convenient sample
Research type: Online questionnaire—average response time 20 min
LGBTI FOCUS GROUPS
Implementation: August 2015.
Group number: 3 in each country (2 with general population and 1 with LGBTI population)
Location: Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Tirana

5. 5
LGBTI sample – percentage of activists
LGBTI POPULATION, WESTERN BALKANS 2015
26 28 24
9
23
9
44 39
52
52
42
61
10
6
14
8
14
12
19
27
10
30
21 19
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
No, but I would like to
Not currently but I used to be
No
Yes

6. 6 © 2015 Ipsos.
LGBTI
SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS

7. 7
Level of knowledge about the LGBTI community
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
Gay Lesbians Bisexuals Transgender Transexuals Intersexuals
60
46
49
51
79
80
58
45
44
50
79
80
47
35
38
42
64
59
34
25
33
34
54
43 49
52
36
30
27
38
29
36
27
28
22
29Alb
B&H
Kos
Mac
Mne
Srb
From a list of certain social groups, please indicate if you consider them part of LGBTI group.

8. 8
LGBTI people see themselves as most discriminated
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
63
40
81
57
51
41
18
31
10
24
15
31
7 6
6
5
9
8
7
5
6
6
12 14
20
10
16
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
Don’t know
Other
The elderly
Religious minorities
Children
National minorities
Women
People with psychiatric disabilities
The poor
People with physical disabilities
People with developmental disabilities
Roma
Sexual minorities (LGBTI)
Which of the following groups would you say are the most exposed to discrimination in your country?

9. 9
Psychological abuse and verbal harassment:
General perceptions vs. LGBTI reality do not match
36 32
13
42
30 30
76 72 81
66
54
72
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
LGBTI
Population
2015
General
Population
2015
2014 : 57%
Thinking about LGBTI persons, how often are they denigrated by family, friends and/or colleagues?
Have you personally ever been exposed to psychological abuse due to your SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY, e.g. cruel jokes
and demeaning comments, insults, threats of physical violence, etc.

10. 10
Perpetrators of psychological and verbal abuse
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
16 17 18
24
17
36
15
42
12
20 31
26
24
10
12
18
19
1224
8
35
11
10
8
6 10
17
9
7
8
77
6 8
2
6
6 58 6 10 9
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
Other
Close relatives
Officials in institutions/organisations
Public persons
Work colleagues
Hooligans
Friends
Family
People on the streets/passers by
School colleagues
Which of the following groups have been the main perpetrators of psychological abuse in most cases?

11. 11
Physical violence:
General perceptions vs. LGBTI reality somewhat match
29 29
11
29 25 22
32
15
29 27 28
23
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
2014 : 21%
When it comes to physical violence, how often were people suspected or known to belong to the LGBT population exposed to physical
violence of by family, friends, schoolmates, colleagues and/or strangers?
LGBTI
Population
2015
General
Population
2015
Have you personally ever been victimized by PHYSICAL violence due to YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY?

12. 12
Main perpetrators of physical violence
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
Which of the following groups were the main perpetrators of physical violence in most cases?
39 40
17
29
45 43
30
19
32
29
13
30
21
14
17
16
14
5
22
50
11
9
17
517
8 5 4
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
Other
Close relatives
Public persons
Work colleagues
Officials in institutions/organisations
Friends
Family
School colleagues
Hooligans
People on the streets/passers by

13. 13
Discrimination:
General perceptions vs. LGBTI reality do not match
28 23
11
25 22 23
65
51
67
54 49 51
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
2014 : 52%
How often do you believe that people receive worse treatment than others because they belong to the LGBTI population?
Have you personally ever been exposed to discrimination due to your sexual orientation or gender identity?
LGBTI
Population
2015
General
Population
2015

14. 14
Main areas of discrimination
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
39 36
29
36 37
24
19 19
14
24
6
19
10 12
5
7
5 5
13
5
8
5
13
24
10
5
10
9
6
5
11
10
7
10
6
13
17
10
20 16 18
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
Other
Judiciary
Access to public services
Health services
Military
Employment advancement
Education and professional development
Social protection
Political engagement
Police protection
Employment
Based on your personal experience, in which areas are LGBTI people most frequently discriminated?

15. 15
If their child were LGBTI, most would try to “cure” them.
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
6
8
3
5
8
12
11
18
22
8
11
15
10
5
7
12
10
44
41
58
47
48
12
11
9
10
9
7
12
7
15
8
11
7
6
2
6
3
2
1
10
42Alb
B&H
Kos
Mac
Mne
Srb
I would support him/her completely
Don't know
I would accept it but I would try to
make sure that no one else finds out
that except our family
I would try to help him/her – to find a
cure for that
I would stop communicating with
him/her
I would made him/her leave our family
house
I would use physical punishment
If you would find out that your child is a homosexual (previously mentioned LGBTI person), how would you react?

16. 16
When discovering a friend or neighbor to be LGBTI,
most would stop communication
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
If you discovered that your friend/acquaintance/colleague or neighbor is an LGBTI person, how would you react?
3
11
3
7
10
14
5
10
14
4
6
7
17
25
8
25
25
32
25
23
30
25
24
20
34
30
33
34
34
26
17
1
13
5
2
0
Alb
B&H
Kos
Mac
Mne
Srb
I would support him/her completely
Don't know
I would accept it but I would try not to
talk about that
I would try to help him/her – to find a
cure for that
I would stop communicating with
him/her
I would use physical punishment

17. 17
“Well, me, for example, I don’t have a problem with public displays, nor them walking
the streets, anything, but it would be hard for me that my next door neighbors, are,
let’s say a gay married couple, and I have a small child and now I need to explain a
million things, and a child can’t understand it the right way, and that for sure can
impact a child’s development.”
(Female participant of FGDs, General population, Serbia)
“Another guy I know was the only gay in his village for whom it knew and he had a
lot of trouble because he was rejected from the other boys from the fourth and fifth
grades. For example, when he comes in a men’s locker room, those boys were yelling
at him, telling him that he is in the wrong locker room, and that he should go to the
girls’ locker room. Peers or peer violence is the biggest problem.”
(Male participant of FGDs, General population, Albania)
Focus Groups Discussion quotes on Social Inclusion
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015

18. 18
On average, one in 10 people personally interacts with
someone whom they know to be LGBTI
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
Do you personally interact with any person whom you know to be LGBTI?
18-29, educated, urban
8
10
3
10
13
18
92
91
97
90
87
82
Alb
B&H
Kos
Mac
Mne
Srb
Yes No

19. 19
Personal contact reduces prejudice and stereotypes
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
Now I am going to read to you some statements and I would like you to tell me to which extent you agree with each of them:
58%
58%
54%
52%
50%
49%
45%
25%
25%
19%
78%
85%
50%
47%
77%
41%
51%
31%
24%
12%
13%
63%I don’t have anything against homosexuals, but they shouldn't exhibit
their sexual orientation outside of their homes.
Homosexuality has existed always, it is not a phenomenon that has
been made up recently
Homosexuality is a sickness
If homosexuality was normal the Church / your religious community
would approve it
Homosexuals are citizens as much as everybody else
In a normal family a child can't become a homosexual
Tolerance of differencies have gone to other extreme and now
members of minorities have more rights than the rest
If it were not imposed by the West, there would be no homosexuals
in our country
Transgender persons work only in prostitution
Homosexuals are no better than criminals and should be severely
punished
It is quite right to physically punish the homosexuals
General Population average for
Western Balkans
Personally interact with LGBTI
persons

20. 20
Serbia: Increased visibility not raising tolerance,
suggesting potential lag time
GENERAL POPULATION/SERBIA 2014 AND 2015
Personally interact with
LGBTI persons
38%
25%
20%
4%
3%
38%
38%
25%
28%
7%
4%
37%If homosexuality was normal the
Church / your religious community
would approve it
Homosexuality is a sickness
If it were not imposed by the
West, there would be no
homosexuals in our country
In a normal family a child can't
become a homosexual
Homosexuals are no better than
criminals and should be severely
punished
It is quite right to physically
punish the homosexuals
2014 2015
To which extent you agree with the following?:
530 000
citizens
950 000
citizens

21. 21
15 18
73
51
88
69
7
203
10
Western Balkans average
Those who personally interact with LGBTI
persons
A strong majority rejects same-sex marriage
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
 Completely
acceptable
 Mainly
acceptable
 Mainly
unacceptable
 Completely
unacceptable
Is it acceptable for LGBTI couples to get married?

22. 22
Support for marriage-related rights to LGBTI couples—
except adoption. Interaction boosts support.
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
Please indicate whether or not you think it acceptable LGBTI people to exercise the following based on cohabitation with their partners?
32%
30%
30%
29%
29%
10%
67%
59%
60%
58%
51%
57%
26%
39%
The right of LGBTI people to visit their patner in hospital or prison
The right of LGBTI people to health insurance based on their
partner’s insurance
The right of LGBTI people to be treated as next of kin in the event of
partner’s incapacity or death
The right to automatically inherit their partner’s possessions in the
event of their partner’s death
The right to legal action related to division of property & assets
should their partnership be dissolved
The right of LGBTI people to inherit partner’s pension in the event of
their partner’s death
The right of LGBTI people to adopt children
General
Population
average for
Western Balkans
Personally
interact with
LGBTI persons

23. 23 © 2015 Ipsos.
LGBTI
POLITICAL INCLUSION

24. 24
Economy and unemployment are top issues
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
In your opinion, what is the most important problem that your country is facing at this moment, the problems that you personally are
the most concerned about?
Average Albania
Bosnia-
Herzegovina
Montenegro Kosovo Macedonia Serbia
Unemployment 47 49 55 40 54 35 45
Economy 8 11 5 6 9 10 8
Corruption 7 10 6 7 16 1 4
Low living standard 5 2 2 10 5 13
General poverty 4 4 7 4 5 4
Domestic politics 3 5 3 1 9 2
Criminal 3 6 3 4 3 1 3
Health care system 2 3 1 1 1 3 2
Political affairs & conflicts 2 1 5 4
Pensions 1 2 3 1 3

25. 25
Most voters would not vote for a political party that
supports LGBTI rights
GENERAL POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
58
52
60
61
49
47
18
15
10
17
20
17
8
16
18
5
10
14
10
10
9
12
13
14
5
6
3
6
8
8
Alb
B&H
Kos
Mac
Mne
Srb
I wouldn’t vote for sure for that party
I probably wouldn’t vote for that party
Don't know
I would probably vote for that party
I would vote for sure for that party
If a party focuses on the most important problem in your country and also says it wants to protect and promote the rights of LGBTI
citizens, would you vote for that party?

26. 26
Serbia’s ruling party did not lose support in allowing the
2014 Belgrade Pride Parade to take place
GENERAL POPULATION/SERBIA 2014
24%
26% 26% 26%
27%
46%
48% 47%
54%
47%
14-Jul
14-Aug
14-Sep
14-Oct
14-Nov
SNS A. Vučić
Which party would you vote for if elections were held this weekend?

27. 27
LGBTI people vote in numbers lower than general turnout
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
Did you vote on last held Parliamentary election?
LGBTI voters: Male (except in B&H),
aged 20-30, high school graduates,
students, college graduates
81
75
74
81
71
70
68
69
52
62
59
58
Alb
B&H
Kos
Mac
Mne
Srb
General
Population
LGBTI
Population

28. 28
31
16
14
20
27
21
69
84
86
80
73
79
Alb
B&H
Kos
Mac
Mne
Srb
Yes No
LGBTI people are open to entering politics
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
Would you personally stand as a candidate in your party/municipality/city/country?

29. 29
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
76
69 71
45
67
59
24
31 29
55
33
41
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
Pride Parades are not helping improve
the position of LGBTI community
Pride Parades have improved the
position of LGBTI community
Most LGBTI persons in the region, except Macedonia, see
Pride as helping LGBTI communities
Which statement do you personally agree more?

30. 30
Please rank the top three reasons which would motivate you to support a Pride Parade?
LGBTI POPULATION/WESTERN BALKANS 2015
38
12
24
37 35
24
14
48
5
32
14
17
26
13
24
15
4
11
7
7
29
4
19 26
13 15 19 9
12
17
3 4 3
17
6
Alb B&H Kos Mac Mne Srb
A larger number of LGBTI organizations
supported the organization of a Pride
Parade
More organizations, not engaged in LGBTI
rights, supported the organization of a
Pride Parade
There were some other additional Parade
programmes also during the year
Prominent national politicians stood at
the head of a Pride Parade
The State guaranteed the security of all
of the participants of a Pride Parade
More people come forward and publicly
supported a Pride Parade
Safety and solidarity cited as key to Pride participation