Poll claims LGBT Scots 'still face prejudice'

Three out of five people believe lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Scots still face public prejudice, according to a poll commissioned by a gay rights charity.

Stonewall said four out of five people surveyed for the YouGov poll said it was right to tackle that prejudice.

The survey also suggested two thirds of Scots support same-sex marriage.

But 58% of people aged between 18 and 29 said there was homophobic bullying in their school.

The poll of 1,968 people also indicated that, in the past five years, 6% of Scots of working age had witnessed verbal homophobic or transphobic bullying in the workplace.

And 2% Scots of working age had witnessed physical homophobic or transphobic bullying in the workplace.

Colin Macfarlane, director of Stonewall Scotland, said: "We pride ourselves in being seen as a nation of tolerance and respect but this poll only highlights that for thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Scots the reality is very different.

"We only have to look at some of the deeply offensive comments made by senior clerics about gay people recently - likening loving same-sex relationships to polygamy and calling them grotesque - to see that prejudice still remains in some quarters.

"Thankfully, the research shows that the majority of Scots say this sort of behaviour is not good enough and they want to see it tackled.

"There is a long way to go before we can say 21st Century Scotland is truly tolerant but it is clear that people expect brave and bold leadership to transform Scotland into the kind of country we can be proud of and want to live in."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the poll: "Reaffirms that whilst many Scots are strong supporters of equality across all sections of society, much more must be done to eradicate homophobic discrimination from schools, workplaces and social groups."

Labour's health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "The survey shows that there is widespread support for equal marriage and I hope that the Scottish government will make the right decision next month and agree to legislate for equal marriage in Scotland."