(ECNS) -- A study of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in China found that just 5 percent are willing to come out while 84.1 percent choose to marry heterosexual partners due to social pressure, caixin.com reported.
The joint report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Department of Sociology of Peking University and Beijing LGBT Center was released on International Day Against Homophobia on May 17.
It said the majority of LGBT people face stigma and discrimination, especially from their own families, resulting in a small minority that dare to be open about their homosexuality.
As the largest-scale study ever undertaken on sexual diversity in China, the report is based on 280,000 questionnaires completed in all provincial-level regions across the country. Over two-thirds of respondents said they were part of the LGBT group.
Despite low social visibility, the top areas LGBT members said they face discrimination are at home (56.1 percent), school (39.6 percent) as well as at the office and in religious environments (20 percent).
The most popular forms of discrimination were verbal reminders on styles of dress, requirements to change and verbal assault, according to the report.
Wu Lijuan, a teacher from the Department of Sociology of Peking University, said LGBT members face more discrimination after coming out.
Over 80 percent of respondents said they were perplexed about their sexual orientation while some admitted they took corrective measures after feeling excluded by their families.
Among the married, 13.2 percent entered into a relationships of convenience by marrying a person of the opposite sex that is also gay, the study found.
But the report added that public attitudes towards the LGBT community, especially among the younger generation, are becoming more tolerant in China. In the survey, 70 percent didn't think of LGBT orientation as "an illness", 85 percent supported legalization of gay marriage and over 80 percent think LGBT rights should be protected by law.
Agi Veres, country director of UNDP in China, said LGBT members in Asia, including in China, are the most vulnerable and weakest group in society.
The report also found a lack of educational sources on sexual diversity in schools, where about 10 percent said they first came to know about sexual diversity.
