According to Ipsos, 77% of French people consider professional and amateur sports environments homophobic

2023-09-07 17:27:50

Homophobia plagues the whole of society, including sporting circles, whether professional or amateur. In 2022, an Ipsos study highlighted this again. In total, 77% of citizens perceive these environments as homophobic. A figure which corresponds to the 75% of French people who believe that homophobia is widespread in France.

According to the polling company, a relative majority of French people believe that it is team sports where homophobia and transphobia are most present. Football is notably in first position, ahead of rugby.

Muteness to avoid aggression

This study also highlights that the announcement of a practitioner’s homosexuality or trans identity arouses a reaction among his teammates. A dramatic observation, which explains the silence that exists in sports clubs on this issue.

Finally, according to Ipsos, 40% of French people have already “witnessed or been targeted by a homophobic insult. » This figure further rises to 67% within the LGBT + community. 60% of them even say they have “seen or experienced verbal aggression”, while 44% have suffered physical aggression.

This has a clear consequence: the people concerned no longer confide their sexual orientation and prefer to hide it to avoid being the target of these attacks. Only 55% of LGBT+ respondents in this survey have come out to their sporting entourage.