Researchers said they were not surprised by the findings
More than one in three Britons believe asexuality can be ‘cured’ according to a new study.
Asexual people, often known as ‘aces’ feel little, fluctuating or no sexual attraction.
Over 28,000 people in England and Wales identify as asexual according to census data, which equates to 0.06 per cent of the population.
A study from King’s College London has shown that ace people face a mix of discrimination, ignorance and acceptance in the UK.
Approximately nine in 10 (89 per cent) of the 400 people surveyed acknowledged that asexuality exists, leaving 11 per cent who said the community does not.
Nearly a third (31 per cent) of the 400 respondents said they believed that asexuality could be cured through therapy.
Conversion therapy is a discredited, pseudo-scientific practice that ace people are more likely to be ordered or undergo.
Yasmin Benoit, an asexual activist and model, who co-authored the study told the Metro: “I’m not surprised by that finding at all, as it’s something I hear all the time.
“I’ve been hearing it since I was a teenager and you can take a glance at online discourse and see how common it is to think that asexual people need fixing. It’s an unfortunately common asexual experience.”
Benoit and her fellow researchers sought to answer the question: “How much do people understand about asexual people in the UK in 2024?”
Over a quarter of people said that aces haven’t met the ‘right person yet’ while four in ten people said they wouldn’t believe someone is asexual if they have sex.
Activists have stressed that some asexual people have sexual relationships.
Over a quarter of participants also said asexuality is a mental health problem though it is no longer considered to be a mental disorder by psychiatric bodies.
London researchers also found that 73 per cent of those polled would be ‘comfortable’ having an asexual child.
Around the same number said equality legislation should protect asexual people in the same way it does for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Benoit said: “One thing I found particularly interesting about the findings is that – when asked – most people don’t think they have negative opinions of asexuality.
“It’s like how I’ve never met someone who openly says they’re racist, but I’ve experienced racism.
“People literally don’t know what acephobia is, or what asexuality is, so they don’t know that they’re doing or saying anything harmful.
Benoit said that most ace people are in the closet and aren’t coming out anytime soon due to the lack of awareness in the press, education and law.
She added: “People assume there must be something physically or mentally wrong with you, or that your asexuality is some kind of lifestyle choice or value judgement.
“In a sociopolitical climate that’s increasingly hostile towards LGBTQ+ people, acephobia is becoming more frequent, but we don’t have the same protections as other marginalised orientations, which makes us particularly vulnerable.”
Benoit has met with MPs to discuss asexuals being included in anti-discrimination laws and says those discussions have been positive.
She also wants asexuality to be part of a proposed conversion therapy ban.
She said: “I’d love it if, further down the line, we can be included in the UK Equality Act 2010, demedicalised in the International Classification of Diseases, and it’d be amazing if we had equal access to IVF as well.”
