Revealing homosexuality to family members is still taboo in most Brazilian homes. Proof of this is the result of the most recent survey by engagement consultancy Santo Caos, which assessed the acceptance of young LGB people in their families.
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According to the survey, 63% of young people report feeling total or partial rejection from family members after they found out about their sexual orientation. It was also noted that 59% of them reveal their sexuality to family members, while 41% prefer to reveal it only to their closest friends or hide it completely.
116 young people, aged 18 to 25, were interviewed.
"The subject is still treated as a taboo and some people feel this non-acceptance at home. It's that old story of 'the neighbor's son might be homosexual, mine might not'. Because of this archaic thinking, many end up having enormous fear of revealing sexuality", says Daniel Santa Cruz, partner and director of the company's innovation, who recently released the study "Dismissing Prejudices – Why companies need to come out of the closet".
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According to him, relationships with family members directly interfere with professional life. "From a more in-depth 'look' at our study of LGBT professionals in the job market, we realized that the attitude of younger people in companies was very similar to the attitudes and questions found in family and social life. Career and life are increasingly mixed, which is why it is important that companies have more concrete public policies, in order to guide and help employees to fully understand their difficulties and desires".
The study also analyzed that 42% of young people have already suffered prejudice, that 30% believe that sexual orientation interfered in their choice of profession and that 35% have already given up on a career because of their sexuality. "To give you an idea, 1 in 3 young people said that sexuality influences their career choice. Stories of this type, even if not experienced personally, help create insecurity in younger people."
