Render unto Caesar - The Census dilemma
The #ProudToBeCounted campaign is encouraging LGBT+ people to answer the voluntary questions on sexuality & gender identity on the census. How will you respond?
The law requires one census to be completed for each household. If you are not out where you live but want to complete these questions privately, you can request your own access code which will override the answers given in your name at that address.
The England & Wales Census on 21st March will ask voluntary questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time. This should ensure that LGBT+ communities are counted, but there are problems, especially for trans and non-binary folk. Our Co-Chair Alex Clare-Young explains:
I can still picture the first census that I filled in, a decade ago. I was in the early stages of transition and identified strongly as male.
I sat in the kitchen of the tiny student flat that I shared with two others, my pen hovering over the boxes. M…F… M… F… At first I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to tick. Then, with a sinking feeling, I realised that the word ‘sex’ was probably used very intentionally… But could I really tick F with a clear conscience? And why should I?
“It’s a tension because I want to provide accurate data but also not compromise my integrity.”
This is an issue not only of dysphoria, emotion and identity, but also of integrity, good data, and the essential governance skill of managing diversity well. This year, the census gender/sex dilemma has hit the mainstream media, and it’s fair to say that our leaders have missed the mark, not only for trans people, but for all of us. The reason that the question has been raised is because of confusing government guidance, which was challenged by an anti-trans campaigning group. However, as a conversation with a trans person awaiting their Gender Recognition Certificate [GRC] this morning reminded me, the question of data about sex and gender affects women and trans people alike, and a more nuanced form could have easily resolved the difficulties and captured data sensitively and accurately.
You might wonder whether or not this is a real issue. It’s just a tick box on a form, surely? It doesn’t really matter, does it?
“The last thing I want is an F straight after my name – because that isn’t accurate.”
The thing is that it really does matter, and it is a whole lot more than just a tick box on a form. Census data is used by the government to plan and run public services. As such, it is essential that census data accurately reflects the demographic make-up of the UK. Any room for error impacts the way in which identity groups that are already marginalised are served by our government. This is a massive social justice issue.
Both trans and cis people need this data to accurately reflect a) sex and b) gender so that services are funded, and run, appropriately for all. Just one reason that this really matters is the level of healthcare inequality that trans people experience, which is effected by both sex and gender. The current system, and the way in which it inter-relates with the Gender Recognition Act, also means that the way in which findings represent the number of trans people in the U.K. will be inaccurate.
This also matters for psychosocial and spiritual reasons. There is something extremely damaging in being forced to label oneself inaccurately. Trans people already experience significant distress in relation to misgendering in our daily lives, exacerbating the difficulties that form filling involves for many. For the trans person who cares deeply about spiritual integrity and authenticity, this becomes even more problematic.
Jesus famously instructed his disciples to 'Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.' The problem is that identities cross psycho-social-spiritual-legal boundaries. Identities are deeply personal and spiritual matters which, nevertheless, are lived out in the social sphere and affect - and are affected by - legal and governmental decisions. Many feel deeply called to respond to God authentically by refusing to hide or lie about our identities. And yet, we are provided with a governmental form on which we are legally required to lie.
There is no easy answer or solution. What we can do is consider:
a) What we are legally required to do this time,
b) how we might pastorally reconcile this tension,
c) what sort of changes should we be campaigning for in advance of the next census.
This Census – What to do?
This is an attempt to straight-forwardly describe how trans people are expected to answer sex and gender questions in the current census. It it not intended to imply agreement with this reality, which leaves me, and many others, very frustrated! Some people may choose to answer more authentically.
a. The Sex Question
If you do not have a GRC, you are expected to tick the box which aligns with your sex assigned at birth.
If you do have a GRC, you are expected to tick the box which aligns with your GRC/revised birth certificate/gender.
b. The Gender Identity Question
This question comes later in the form is voluntary.
Some trans people will wish to indicate their trans identities here, others will not.
This decision is deeply personal, and there is no right or wrong answer.
This does, however, create a statistical difficulty.
Reconciling – How to move forward?
For those required to tick the box, very near the start of the census, that misgenders them, there will be a level of emotional pain involved. It may be helpful to spend some time engaged in an activity that affirms your sense of self, or to have a chat with someone who sees you as you are. It may also be helpful to spend some time in prayer. Here’s a simple one that might help. Consider leaving silence for reflection between each line.
God, Creator, Created, Creative…
I know that you see me as I am.
You feel my frustration with the inauthenticity required by this flawed system.
Help me to let go.
Help me to move forward.
Help me to shape change.
Here I am, you have called me by name, I am enough.
Amen.
Next time – Campaigning for change
The fundamental problem here is that the results of this census will not accurately represent a) gender, b) sex, and c) trans identity. This will contribute to a continuation of significant social justice issues for all sorts of people, and may also be used to downplay the number of trans people in the UK. This is simply not good enough. There is an urgency to this issue that means we cannot simply wait for the next census. Those with the ability/power/networks to commission or work towards more nuanced statistical data should do so as soon as possible. It is important that the census is fair and accurate for everyone. At present, this is presented as a binary debate as to whether the form should include sex or gender. The solution must complexify this polemic and prioritise accuracy.
There is also, however, a real need to challenge those designing the census to do better next time. Potential improvements include moving the sex question to later in the form and including separate questions about sex, gender, and trans identities, although a nuanced and evidence based approach is essential, and will take time and thought to develop. Further, this difficulty has shown the real flaws in the GRA and highlighted, yet again, the need for urgent reform.
