Gender nonconforming people in Australia will soon be able to check off a non-binary option for the country’s upcoming 2021 census. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the designation will allow the country to improve its data on gender diversity.
The change will be an update to the Standard for Sex and Gender Variables, which allowed citizens to check an “other” option for the 2016 census, as opposed to female and male. For that year’s census, 1,260 Australians identified as gender diverse, although ABS previously claimed it wasn’t “considered to be an accurate count” due to limitations around “the special procedures and willingness or opportunity to report as sex and/or gender diverse.” In addition, the 2016 census option required a special form to be completed in order for it to be counted.
The updated census will allow respondents to choose from three options in tota: “male,” “female,” or “non-binary.” Respondents also have the choice to select both non-binary and another gender.
LGBTQ+ Advocates claim these updates are necessary to be able to understand the size of Australia’s trans and nonbinary community.
“We need to understand how many of our community members are incarcerated, are living in aged care homes,” said Nicky Bath, chief executive of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, told the Canberra Times newspaper. “Currently the data on the health and well-being of our communities has significant gaps which are hindering government responses and reducing the benefits we can gain from being included in, for example, minimum data sets and coroners’ data.”
People often conflate the terms “sex” and “gender,” which statisticians worry could result in inaccurate responses. The ABS defines “sex” as being based upon a person’s sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive organs. Gender is described as “social and cultural differences in identity, expression, and experience.”
“While they are two related concepts, caution should be exercised when comparing counts for sex with those for gender as a person’s gender may be different to what is indicated on legal documents,” the guidelines state.
Dr. Liz Allen from the Center for Social Research and Methods said the census would be “invaluable,” according to The Canberra Times.
“Unlike sample surveys which may not capture a true snapshot of the LGBTI community, it allows a complete examination of all people right across the country,” she said. “Right from remote communities, regional areas, and major cities.”
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the census will also include new questions related to long-term health conditions, including heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes.
Non-binary inclusion in Australia comes at the same time that Iceland’s national registry has updated its gender options. In 2019, Iceland passed the Gender Determination Law, which allows people in the country to update their gender with a third option — X — to the national registry. Those under the age of 18 will be allowed to register their gender with the approval of a parent or legal guardian.
Iceland’s Gender Determination law will also end invasive medical processes that trans and non-binary people have long had to go through in order to have their gender legally recognized. Furthermore, trans and gender-nonconforming people will now be allowed to receive access to medically necessary treatment through an informed consent model, which allows a patient who is informed of all the issues of a certain medical treatment to undergo that treatment of their own responsibility. It usually requires the signing of a special release form.
Unlike the progression seen in Australia and Iceland, the U.S. Census Bureau currently doesn’t track LGBTQ+ identities, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Meanwhile, gender recognition laws vary by state due to a lack of federal legislation.
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