42.2% of respondents said they strongly support LGBTI people being open about their identity
The last survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) that explored what Ecuadorians think about LGBTI people, and the living conditions of this population, was in 2013.
This year, the pollster Ipsos conducted a survey, with a sample size of 711, on the perception of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, and other sexual dissidences —commonly grouped as the LGBTI population. The survey asked about the acceptance of displays of affection in public places —such as parks, shopping malls, restaurants, and cafes—and explored how accepting brands and companies that promote equality for LGBTI people are.
The survey was conducted in Quito and Guayaquil, where most of the population is concentrated. Of the 711 people surveyed, 380 were in Quito and 311 in Guayaquil.
To learn about the situation of the LGBTI community, Ipsos divided the responses by age group:
- Generation Z: 18 to 24 years old
- Millennials: 24 to 40 years old
- Generation X: 41 to 55 years old
- Baby Boomers: 55 to 65 years old
The responses
One of the statements asked what they think about LGBTI people being “open about their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
A total of 42.2% of respondents said they strongly support LGBTI people being open about their identity and orientation. While 44.2% said they neither support nor oppose this.
Only 13% said they were strongly opposed to LGBTI openness.
The segment that most supports LGBTI people expressing themselves freely was Generation Z: 56.5% strongly support it; just 5.6% said they are opposed to it.
On the other hand, 16.6% of the Baby Boomers – from 55 to 65 years old – answered that they are opposed to this openness, while 28.6% said they strongly supported it. The other Baby Boomer respondents, 54.6%, stated that they neither supported nor opposed it.
The city that is most open to supporting LGBTI people to express their identity was Quito, with 45.6%. Guayaquil reflected 38.3% acceptance.
Other questions asked what respondents thought about LGBTI people “showing their affection in public (for example: kissing or holding hands).”
The trend was maintained with respect to the previous question: the Ecuadorian capital is more open; 32.1 % of people living in Quito said that they strongly supported demonstrations of affection from this population, while 43.9 % said they neither oppose nor support it, and 23.9 % said they strongly opposed it.
In Guayaquil, 28.9% strongly support LGBTI public affection, and 42.3% neither support nor oppose it. And 29.3% are strongly opposed to it.
This question is particularly relevant in Guayaquil since at the end of May 2022, a homosexual couple denounced alleged discrimination at Vento Rooftop, a nightclub on the Samborondón road. The couple were dancing when they were asked to leave the place and were told that Vento was not “an alternative place.”
Also, the report “The limited public space for diversity” tells how discrimination exists in public spaces in Guayaquil. The report shows how on the morning of March 17, 2021, in the park of the traditional neighborhood of Los Ceibos, a security guard approached Karin Iturralde, 29, and Anllel Tanús, 21, and asked them to stop engaging in “that kind of behavior.” He told them that, from a distance, he had seen that both had an “inappropriate” approach. He warned them that if they kept doing “that” he would call the police. This happened to them three times in the same park.
This reality is changing with the new generations. The survey reflects that people between 18 and 24 years old strongly (52.1%) support demonstrations of affection from the LGBTI community; and 36.8% neither support nor oppose. Only 11% oppose.
The generation that precedes them, Millennials (25 to 45 years old), strongly support (30.6%) these forms of expression and 45% do not support but do not oppose either. Only 24.4% are strongly opposed.
People between 41 and 55 years, together with the Baby Baby Boomers, are strongly opposed to demonstrations of affection by LGBTI couples, at 40.8 and 40.5%, respectively.
Another question asked what respondents think about laws that prohibit discrimination against LGBTI people “when it comes to employment, housing, education and social services.”
A total of 52% of those questioned said they strongly support laws to prohibit discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation. Only 14% responded that they were strongly opposed to these kinds of laws. Once again, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers strongly opposed these types of laws, with 20.1% of the former and 21.4% of the latter against them. In the younger Generation Z, only 11.7% of those questioned opposed these laws.
The figures between Quito and Guayaquil were more similar, with less than 1% difference. In Quito, 15% opposed these types of law, in Guayaquil that number was 14.2%.
Of the 711 people surveyed, 691 were from just two cities (Quito and Guayaquil). The total population of these two cities combined is roughly 5 million. That is less than a third of the population of Ecuador. So, how can you extrapolate the results to the whole country? I am not saying that if it were a true countrywide survey, the results would be different. I don’t know that.
Just saying the headline is misleading. It only shows the “openness” to LGBT* in Quito and Guayaquil.