Public data should not conflate sex and gender, review says
Cancer screening was found to be missed, and the criminal conviction was due to how data about people’s biological gender and gender identity were collected.
The review, led by Professor Alice Sullivan, outlines the risks of confusing biological gender and gender into clinical care, gender-specific cancer screening and protection.
Professor Sullivan urges public institutions to collect data on gender and gender identity “comprehensively” by default to ensure they are accurate.
The Ministry of Health said the findings would be “gravity as it should be because it comprehensively reforms gender identity services.”
Professor Sullivan said: “In recent years, there has been a confusion between gender and trans and gender-diverse identities” and attempts to “merge these two things into one variable.”
Although people can change gender legally, they cannot change biological gender. This means that a woman who transitions to a man may still need a cervical smear, while a transgender woman may need a prostate test.
Professor Sullivan told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that there is no reason to “weight” between data recording gender and gender.
“What I think in this report is that sex is very important and we should record it by default – trans and gender-diversified identities can also be recorded in appropriate places,” she said.
“There is no reason to think of it as a trade-off between the two. They are two different variables.”
Report, Commissioned by the former Conservative government last February also raised concerns about policing because suspects do not have to tell officials that they have changed their names or genders.
Commentary says that before they know their criminal history, someone may be released.
The report recommends that police forces record data about gender in their systems and stop making changes to gender markings on police state computers.
It also said that new NHS numbers and gender markers should not be released again.
She urged the government to implement the recommendations “fully” in full.
“I recommend that data about gender be collected by default in all research and data collections commissioned by government and quasi-governmental organizations, and I think implementation will make a huge difference,” she said.
“I think we need leadership because people are confused and they are anxious.”
“The government clearly shows that accurate and relevant data is crucial in research and the operation of effective public services, especially in terms of sexual behavior,” a government spokesman said.
The spokesman added that the review has been shared with the offices of the National Bureau of Statistics and other departments.
