people. Those who "strongly disagreed" with allowing equal civil marriage rights for same-sex couples declined to just 23%. A large survey released by Afrobarometer in 2016 suggested South Africa had the second-most tolerant views towards gay neighbours in Africa, after Cape Verde, with 67% of those surveyed reporting that they would either "strongly like, somewhat like or not care" if they lived next to a same-sex couple. This contrasted with the Africa-wide average of 21% and lows of just 3% in Senegal and 5% in Uganda and Niger. According to a 2017 poll carried out by ILGA, 67% of South Africans agreed that gay, lesbian and bisexual people should enjoy the same rights as straight people, while 17% disagreed. Additionally, 72% agreed that they should be protected from workplace discrimination. 24% of South Africans, however, said that people who are in same-sex relationships should be charged as criminals, while a majority of 57% disagreed. As for transgender people, 72% agreed that they should have the same rights, 74% believed they should be protected from employment discrimination and 64% believed they should be allowed to change their legal gender. Additionally, according to that same poll, 9% of South Africans would try to "change" a male neighbour's sexual orientation if they discovered he was gay, while 72% would accept and support him. 8% would try to "change" a female neighbour's sexual orientation, while 76% would accept her as she is. A May 2021 Ipsos poll showed that 71% of South Africans supported some form of legal recognition for same-sex couples (59% of South Africans supported same-sex marriage, 12% supported civil partnerships but not marriage) while 15% were opposed to all legal recognition for same-sex couples, and 14% were undecided. In addition, 18% of South Africans had already attended the wedding of a same-sex couple. There is increased support of LGBTQ rights from religious organisations, with 62% of Catholics in South Africa agreeing that homosexuality should be "accepted by society". There has been an increase in positive portrayals of LGBTQ characters in South African media. South African soap operas have hired both gay and heterosexual actors to portray LGBTQ characters. Reality shows such as Date My Family and Our Perfect Wedding have included gay couples. Summary table See also Human rights in South Africa Intersex rights in South Africa LGBT events in South Africa LGBT rights in Africa Notes References Further reading External