Pride Month: SA voted as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world

Cape Town Pride parade participants make their way from the Green Point Traffic Department to Adderley Street, in this file picture from the colourful annual event. Picture: LEON LESTRADE.

Cape Town Pride parade participants make their way from the Green Point Traffic Department to Adderley Street, in this file picture from the colourful annual event. Picture: LEON LESTRADE.

Published Jun 3, 2023

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Johannesburg - South Africa has been voted as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world.

This is according to a recent study done by website MyDatingAdviser.com, who released a report on ‘The Best Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel in 2023’.

South Africa features prominently on the list, as the 11th best LGBTQ+ travel destination in the world.

The website conducting the study to raise awareness of global attitudes for LGBTQ Pride Month, this month.

South Africa has been given an LGBTQ+ travel index score of 86.2 (out of a possible 100 points).

Sweden was voted as the best LGBTQ+ travel destination in the world, followed by the Netherlands and Spain.

Other countries to feature in the list included France, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.

No other African country has made the top 20 list of best LGBTQ+ travel destinations in the world, since most still criminalise homosexuality.

To determine the most gay-friendly travel destinations, MyDatingAdviser compared 34 countries across eight key indicators of LGBTQ+-friendliness.

File - Cape Town Pride parade participants make their way from the Green Point Traffic Department to Adderley Street, in this file picture from the colourful annual event. Picture: LEON LESTRADE.

The data set focuses on the following categories: society's acceptance of homosexuality, sexual activity rights, civil union rights, marriage rights, adoption rights, military service rights, anti-discrimination laws, and gender identity laws.

So what made South Africa one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world?

According to a spokesperson at MyDatingAdviser.com, South Africa ticked several boxes.

“There is a huge public acceptance towards homosexuality. 54% of the South African public is accepting of homosexuality, according to a ‘Global Attitudes & Trends’ survey by Pew Research.

“South Africa's legal system also goes a long way in ensuring same sex couples live freely,” said a spokesperson.

File - Members of the LGBTQ+ community attend the 25th Gay Pride parade in Johannesburg, in this file picture from 2014. The rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community on the African continent is a constant struggle, with Uganda and Zimbabwe being the worst countries in terms of gay rights, and South Africa having the most liberal stance. Picture: KIM LUDBROOK/ EPA.

“Sexual activity for same-sex couples has been legal since 1998. Marriage rights have been legal since 2006, and adoption rights have been legal since 2002.

“Military service rights have also been legal since 1998. The country also has really good anti-discrimination laws. The constitution bans all anti-gay discrimination.

“There are also really great gender identity laws,” the spokesperson said.

Sweden, however, was the resounding winner.

“We have scientifically proven that Sweden is the best gay travel destination, as attitudes and laws are gay-friendly, beating out other great countries in Europe and around the world.”

The Saturday Star