Census may become more trans-friendly

Posted in: New Zealand Daily News
By GayNZ.com Daily News staff - 17th May 2010

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Census guidelines may be changed so transgender people can record their new sex, instead of the gender they were born.

In a draft document, Statistics New Zealand says a person who has undergone sex reassignment should be classified to that sex, while a person who was of indeterminate sex and who has undergone sex assignment should be classified to that sex.

The proposal says someone who is currently undergoing such procedures and living as the sex that they are taking steps towards would be classified as that sex.

"The publication of guide notes is not recommended in relation to sex assignment or reassignment as it would tend to make the declaration of sex unnecessarily complicated for the majority of survey participants and may elicit facetious responses. Instead, field staff and helpline staff (where applicable) would be able to provide guidance in response to enquiries."

Kelly Ellis from TransAdvocates says previously guidelines have required that trans people record the sex they were born as, unless they had a Family Court "declaration as to sex" and a new birth certificate reflecting the new gender. 

Ellis says the current guidelines have created non-compliance with the guideline or blank answers. She says the result of not responding to the question is that the answer gets "imputed" from other information available, such as name and relationships to others in the household.

"Imputation is the statistical equivalent of making an educated guess. And, it seems if not enough information is there to make any determination, an answer is simply given. No doubt Statistics New Zealand gets it right at least half the time," she says.

"Although the guidelines might not please all, the new guidelines will mean that once people have started a transition, they should record their desired gender.  And that has to be a good thing."

The deadline for comment on the proposed draft standard is 19 May. Email transadvocates@gmail.co.nz if you'd like a copy.

Feedback can be sent to classifications@stats.govt.nz