Spain might have the most advanced legislation in the world when it comes to giving equal rights to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders, but that hasn't done much to change Spaniards' attitudes toward homosexuals, a new study shows.

On paper, people say they favour laws granted by the government allowing homosexuals to marry and adopt. But on the streets it is a different story.

Some pro-gay associations believe that it is precisely a reaction to those newly acquired civil rights that has fomented a growing wave of homophobia in society, and sparked comments against homosexuals in the press.

In one recent episode, Bernardo Álvarez, the bishop of Tenerife, told a local newspaper that homosexuals were more inclined to commit sexual crimes, and that he believed only six percent of homosexuals can say they are that way because of biological reasons.

"Homosexuality shouldn't be confused with the need to exist, with that which is practiced as a vice," he told La Opinión de Tenerife on 21 December. The bishop went on to say that some minors provoke paedophiles into committing sexual acts.

But these views are not just confined to the Catholic Church. Homophobia appears to be growing among young people.

According to crime statistics, most of those who are violent toward homosexuals, a practice known as gay bashing, are under the age of 30. Last month in Barcelona, a gay couple was beaten after a group of youths asked the men for a light. In 2006, Juan Ignacio Pichardo and his boyfriend were kicked by rowdy youths when they embraced inside a Madrid Metro station.

"Education is the solution, but it is going to take some time before it has its effects," believes Jesús Generelo, who is responsible for educative services at the pro-homosexual association Cogam. In 2005, Generelo and Pichardo conducted a study that proved that homosexuals in Spanish schools are still prone to more hate, violence and discrimination than heterosexual students are.

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