Controversy as trans people are allowed to self-identify in census
THE next census in 2021 will, for the first time, enable trans people to select their gender identification, after a controversial Bill enabling the change passed its final stage in Parliament.
Trans rights campaigners have lauded the inclusion of new questions on the next census as “a major victory for equality”. But the provision has led to controversy, with some feminist academics saying the national survey does not exist to “validate people’s identities”.
The Census (Return of Particulars and Removal of Penalties) Bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of topics a census may ask about in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland. It also provides that there is no criminal penalty for not responding.
Emma Meehan, assistant director of public affairs at the LGBT Foundation charity, said: “We are pleased the census will be more trans-inclusive. Trans people experience high levels of discrimination and multiple barriers in accessing services, in part as there remains a complete lack of accurate population data for them. This is an important step in ensuring we live in a society where trans people are treated with the same dignity and respect afforded to everybody else. Trans people should not have to justify their existence
‘There remains a lack of accurate population data that makes the provision of services more challenging’
and their identities should not be up for debate.”
However, Prof Rosa Freedman, professor of law, conflict and global development at the University of Reading and a long-standing critic of self-identification, said: “The census does not exist to validate people’s identities. The purpose of the census is to gather data that allows the government to plan for the population’s needs.
“The sex question is crucial for the government to be able to plan for the needs of the country, whether looking at prostate and cervical cancers or at the gap in earnings between females and males.”
Prof Freedman added: “None of these issues can be addressed if sex and transgender are conflated in the census. Instead of conflating sex and transgender, we need to have questions on both.”
An ONS spokesman said: “The new voluntary questions on sexual orientation and gender identity… are now subject to Parliamentary approval in the Census Order and Regulations. Gathering this information will ultimately help local communities by allowing charities, local and central government to understand the services people from different groups need and monitor equality.”