A survey has found glbt young people grow up feeling isolated and alone in Taiwan. Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights polled of 2,785 glbt people, and 79 per cent of respondents worry that their family would not accept their sexual orientation. Focus Taiwan reports other pressures result from negative media reporting of gay issues (57 per cent), the public's expectations regarding gender roles (49 per cent), the expectations of older generations and company bosses (44 per cent), and verbal and physical abuse (39 per cent). More than 20 per cent of the respondents also said they did not have any gay-friendly friends, classmates or teachers, nor had they been exposed to gay-friendly books, websites or media before the age of 18. One of the respondents, 21-year-old Lun Lun, said that he had been mocked and verbally and physically abused in school because of his identity, since at the elementary level. He said his classmates would gather to see him go to the bathroom, and if he hid in a toilet stall, they would drop things and pour water on him. One time they even poured hydrochloric acid into the toilet stall, he said. "I am glad I did not end my life then," he said. "I have survived on my own strength. But, how many children like me are still enduring these pains at the moment?" Taiwan is considered one of Asia’s most progressive countries in the arena of glbt rights. Read the full story here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 18th April 2012 - 11:44am