Latest BBC guidance on reporting gender

Published internally December 2023 and leaked to UK press on March 22 2024

This note is intended to provide a briefing for reporting in this complex area and to point to useful additional editorial resources. It is not a substitute for the Editorial Guidelines, or normal editorial processes, including referring up to a more senior colleague, or consulting Editorial Policy. It does not cover the BBC’s role and responsibilities as an employer.

Debates, legislation and policies relating to transgender issues have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years. Some of the issues are contested, with strongly held and sometimes incompatible views and no settled consensus. Individuals often feel they have a big personal stake in how these issues are reported. This can make it a challenging area for BBC journalism.

As with any subject, care needs to be taken when researching stories, selecting contributors and examining claims and counter-claims. Some apparently credible sources of information can be highly partisan and misleading.

We should have the need for audience understanding at the forefront of our reporting. Attitudes and levels of engagement vary widely among different sections of the audience. While these are debates that some people are immersed in, to the general audience they can appear opaque and the language unfamiliar.

We need to consider the framing of stories, the language we use, the tone of coverage, the context we provide and the labels we apply to the views of contributors. For example, describing someone as either a women’s rights activist or an anti-trans activist is an editorial choice.

We may also need to challenge claims or assumptions by contributors. Care is needed, for example with use of the term ‘transphobic’ to describe people who would not themselves accept that label.

This is a fast-moving area. Inevitably therefore, this is a snapshot of the current state of legislation, policy and public attitudes.

Editorial Guidelines

We are used to reporting on controversial subjects. They are at the heart of the news agenda and the focus of much of our journalism. As with any contested subject, we need to be aware of the requirement for due impartiality set out in the Impartiality section of the Editorial Guidelines:

4.3.6 When dealing with ‘controversial subjects’, we must ensure a wide range of significant views and perspectives are given due weight and prominence, particularly when the controversy is active. Opinion should be clearly distinguished from fact.

The Guidelines set out what is meant by ‘due weight and prominence’:

4.3.2 Impartiality does not necessarily require the range of perspectives or opinions to be covered in equal proportions either across our output as a whole, or within a single programme, webpage or item. Instead, we should seek to achieve ‘due weight’. For example, minority views should not necessarily be given similar prominence or weight to those with more support or to the prevailing consensus.

We need to think about what we decide to leave out, as well as what we include:

4.3.3 There may be occasions when the omission of views or other material could jeopardise impartiality. There is no view on any subject which must be excluded as a matter of principle, but we should make reasoned decisions, applying consistent editorial judgement, about whether to include or omit perspectives.

Sex and gender

The distinction between sex and gender is at the core of many of the contested areas around trans. Indeed, the distinction itself is not universally accepted. We need to take care to use the appropriate term in the context of a particular story.

Gender identity is based on the feelings, behaviour, expectations and outward presentation typically considered to correspond to someone's sex. For example, a person whose sex is female might identify as male, or vice versa.

For most people, their sex and gender identity are the same. The medical term for people who experience “unease or dissatisfaction” about a difference between their sex and gender is gender dysphoria. There is a lack of consensus about the nature of gender dysphoria and some people do not accept that sex and gender are separate.

The NHS provides guidance on gender dysphoria and how people can seek help if they need it.

A trans person's gender identity is not the same as the sex on their original birth certificate. A baby’s sex is recorded as male or female, based on physical characteristics. There are a small number of people born with chromosomal or physical differences that can make this a complex judgement. These are known as differences in sexual development (DSD).

People who experience a difference between their sex registered at birth and their gender identity may describe themselves as transgender, or trans. Many transgender people live according to their gender identity, dressing and presenting to the world in a way matching that identity and being referred to by their chosen name. We should use a person’s chosen name, unless there are good editorial reasons to use their birth name.

People who are non-binary do not consider themselves to have a solely male or female gender identity. In the UK, a person’s sex can only be legally registered as male or female. Some other countries, including Australia and Germany, legally recognise a non-binary gender.

Some people also decide to change their body physically to correspond to their gender identity. This can involve, for example, taking hormone medication or having voice therapy. A small proportion go on to have surgery. Social, physical and legal changes are known as transitioning.

People sometimes described as gender-critical emphasise that a person’s biological sex cannot be changed and think that biological sex is more important than gender identity.

Numbers of transgender people

The number of trans and non-binary people is small in relation to the overall UK population and estimates vary.

For the first time in 2021, the census in England and Wales asked “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?”. Of the responses, 262,000 people over 16 answered ‘no’ to the question. Of these, 96,000 identified as transgender, with half identifying as trans men and half as trans women. Comparable figures are not yet available for Scotland or Northern Ireland. A further 30,000 people identified as non-binary and 18,000 wrote in a different gender identity. The remainder gave no additional information.

Following concerns about whether all respondents had interpreted the question as intended, the Office for National Statistics undertook further work to understand the data and compare it with other available sources. When referring to these figures in output we should make clear that there are uncertainties about the accuracy of the data.

Legal changes

Under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, UK adults are eligible for a Gender Recognition Certificate if they meet certain criteria. The certificate has the effect of changing a person’s legal sex. This will be recorded on their birth, marriage and death certificates. The main requirements are:

• A declaration that they will live permanently in their acquired gender • Two medical reports, including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria

• A medical report of any hormone treatment or surgery, or any planned treatments • Evidence they have lived full time in their acquired gender for at least two years, such as copies of their passport and driving licence

• Applicants must be 18 or over and pay a fee

Some trans people said they found the system costly, humiliating and bureaucratic. Fewer than 5,000 people had legally changed their sex in this way by 2018. This led the UK government to launch a public consultation on potential changes to the Act.

There was speculation that the government might scrap the medical diagnosis requirement for England and Wales and allow people to change their legal sex through self-identification. When the government responded to the consultation in 2020, it said it believed the Gender Recognition Act contained proper checks and balances. It reduced the cost of applying to £5 and said it was moving the process online.

Scotland

The Scottish government wanted to make it easier for people born in Scotland, or classed as "ordinarily resident" there, to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate. Gender recognition is devolved in Scotland, but not in Wales or Northern Ireland.

The proposed reforms would speed up the process and lower the age people can apply to 16. No diagnosis of gender dysphoria or medical reports are required. The period for which applicants need to have lived in their acquired gender is cut to three months, or six months for under 18s.

The high profile case of Isla Bryson, a double rapist who changed gender while waiting to stand trial, had a significant impact on the debate. Bryson was convicted of attacking two women, while known as Adam Graham.

Bryson was initially jailed in a women's prison, in line with Scottish Prison Service policy, but was moved to a men's facility after the decision met widespread opposition. The policy was subsequently changed so that transgender women are taken first to a prison matching their sex at birth.

There are concerns that some of the consequences of the Bill could impact wider UK equality legislation, which is a ‘reserved’ matter outside the Scottish Parliament's powers.

In December 2022, Scotland’s highest court, the Court of Session, ruled that a GRC changes someone's legal sex for the purpose of the Equality Act 2010. The Act is designed to protect people from being discriminated against because of certain characteristics, which include both sex and gender reassignment.

The implications of the new Scottish legislation for the existing Equality Act led the UK government to use its powers to block the Gender Recognition Reform Bill. The Scottish government is challenging this decision in court. In December 2023, the Court of Session ruled in favour of the UK government.

Women-only spaces

Much of the debate about the rights of transgender people has focused on access to women-only spaces such as toilets, changing rooms, domestic violence refuges, as well as prisons.

Under the Equality Act 2010, no-one should be discriminated against because they are transgender. A person does not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery to be protected. But single-sex service providers can choose to exclude transgender people where this is a ''proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim'', including dignity, privacy or safety.

In 2023, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission advised that clarifying the definition of “sex” in the Equality Act to “biological sex” is worth further consideration. This would make it easier for spaces to exclude people who are transgender, whether or not they have a Gender Recognition Certificate.

In 2023, the Ministry of Justice announced that transgender women convicted of violent or sexual offences, or having male genitalia, would not serve sentences in the women’s prison estate unless there are “exceptional circumstances”, whether or not offenders have a Gender Recognition Certificate. Previously in England and Wales, transgender women prisoners were only placed in a women’s prison after a risk assessment by a complex case board.

Employment

Transgender employees have taken cases to employment tribunals, claiming workplace discrimination in contravention of the Equality Act 2010. There have also been high profile cases which arose from claims of employment discrimination against women with gender-critical views.

In 2021, Maya Forstater won a High Court case against her employer, the Center for Global Development. She had not had her contract renewed after expressing her view on social media that “sex is immutable and not to be conflated with gender identity.” This ruling overturned an earlier employment tribunal finding. The court found that her views were “a protected belief” under the Equality Act.

However, the court also said that “the judgment does not mean that those with gender-critical beliefs can ‘misgender’ trans persons with impunity.” and “does not mean that trans persons do not have the protections against discrimination and harassment conferred by the Equalities Act. They do.”

In 2022, barrister Allison Bailey won her case for discrimination against her chambers. An employment tribunal found that she had been discriminated against for her view that biological sex cannot be changed and that a woman is defined by her biological sex.

Gender identity and children

Another contested area is the treatment of children who question their gender identity. These feelings are "reasonably common", according to the NHS. For a small percentage they persist and may lead to a referral to the under-18s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) in England.

The number of such referrals increased substantially in recent years. In some cases, the service referred children to be prescribed puberty blockers. These delay the onset of puberty, but the NHS says little is known about their long term side effects. In 2023, NHS England announced that children would only be prescribed puberty blockers as part of clinical research.

Cross-sex hormones cannot be prescribed until a young person is over the age of 16 and has been on puberty blockers for 12 months. Reassignment surgery is not legal for people under the age of 18.

In Scotland, young people can be referred to the Sandyford Clinic. In Wales, referrals are to the Gender Identity Clinic. In Northern Ireland referrals are to the Knowing Our Identity service.

Applicants must be over 18 to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate.

Keira Bell case

In 2021, the Court of Appeal overturned a judgment that children under the age of 16 considering gender reassignment are unlikely to be mature enough to give informed consent to be prescribed puberty blocking drugs.

Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which ran NHS England’s only gender identity development service for children, had challenged a High Court ruling against the service by Keira Bell, a 24-year-old woman who began taking puberty blockers when she was 16, before later reverting to a female gender identity. This process is known as detransitioning.

The Appeal Court judges ruled that it was established legal principle that “it was for clinicians rather than the court to decide on competence”.

Cass Review

The NHS announced in July 2022 that the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust was to close after it was criticised in an independent review, led by Dr Hilary Cass.

The Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (The Cass Review) was commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement in Autumn 2020.

The interim report said the current model of care was leaving young people "at considerable risk" of poor mental health and distress, and having one clinic was not "a safe or viable long-term option". It said the service had “moved from a psychosocial and psychotherapeutic model to one that also prescribes medical interventions by way of hormone drugs.”

It recommended setting up new regional centres.

Conversion therapy

Conversion therapy tries to change or supress someone's sexual orientation or stop them identifying as a different gender to their sex recorded at birth. It can include talking therapies and prayer, but more extreme forms can include exorcism, physical violence and food deprivation.

The government says it intends to bring forward legislation to ban all forms of conversion therapy in England and Wales, including practices aimed at transgender people. The ban would outlaw attempts to change someone's sexuality or gender identity. The government had previously said transgender conversion therapy would not be included in the ban.

It is not clear how the ban would affect religious practice or the kind of therapeutic support envisaged in the Cass Review as the appropriate medical approach for children and young people.

Sport

While there are a small number of elite trans athletes, the involvement of trans women in female categories has received increasing focus in recent years.

Trans women have to adhere to rules to compete in women’s categories in specific sports. This can include lowering their testosterone levels to a certain amount, for a set period of time, prior to competing. There are concerns, however, that athletes retain a biological advantage from going through male puberty that is not addressed by lowering testosterone.

The issue of trans competitors affects different sports to different degrees. Sports governing bodies have been drawing up their own policies, seeking to balance inclusion and fairness, as well as the safety of competitors in contact sports. Several sports have tightened their rules after previously allowing trans women to compete in women’s categories.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) first permitted transgender women to take part in the female category of the Olympics in 2004, as long as they had undergone "appropriate surgery". Then, in 2015, the IOC stated athletes who had transitioned from male to female could compete in women's sport without requiring surgery, as long as they had declared their gender identity as female for at least four years, and kept their testosterone level below a certain level for at least 12 months.

A revised framework was issued after the Tokyo Olympics which said there should be no assumption that a transgender athlete automatically had an unfair advantage in female events. It said that the individual sports which come under its umbrella needed to set their own guidelines.

The focus in athletics had been on testosterone levels, with most rules stating that transgender women had to lower and then maintain those levels in their body. However, in March 2023, World Athletics announced that trans women would no longer be allowed to compete in the female categories.

Transgender cyclist Emily Bridges was due to compete in her first women's event in 2022 but was barred by cycling's world governing body. British Cycling suspended its transgender policy and in May 2023 said that transgender women could no longer compete in its elite female events.

World Rugby has banned trans women from playing women’s rugby at elite level.

Government advice and the curriculum

There has been considerable controversy about the appropriate approach for schools. The UK government says it will publish draft guidance for schools in England on issues around sex and gender. This could, for example, include policy on whether and when to inform parents of a pupil’s wish to change their gender identity. The Welsh government has also said it will publish guidance in the current academic year. Scotland and Northern Ireland have already published guidance.

In September 2020, the government updated the national curriculum for Relationships, Sex Education and Health in England. It is compulsory for schools to have classes about relationships at primary school, and relationships and sex education at secondary school.

Here is the RSE curriculum and guidance published in 2020 to assist teachers in implementation:

It includes this advice:

Ensuring content is appropriate “…We are aware that topics involving gender and biological sex can be complex and sensitive matters to navigate. You should not reinforce harmful stereotypes, for instance by suggesting that children might be a different gender based on their personality and interests or the clothes they prefer to wear. Resources used in teaching about this topic must always be age-appropriate and evidence based. Materials which suggest that non-conformity to gender stereotypes should be seen as synonymous with having a different gender identity should not be used and you should not work with external agencies or organisations that produce such material. While teachers should not suggest to a child that their non-compliance with gender stereotypes means that either their personality or their body is wrong and in need of changing, teachers should always seek to treat individual students with sympathy and support…”

Contributors

As the Editorial Guidelines make clear, we have to ensure a wide range of significant views are included in our output. This can be challenging as some contributors do not accept the legitimacy of views with which they disagree. This is sometimes framed as a conflict between free speech and hate speech.

We need to give appropriate time and space for contributors and the audience to engage with the complexity of the issues involved. This includes providing appropriate questioning of inaccurate factual assertions.

Where possible we should include relevant voices speaking for themselves, rather than having others talk for them. This includes trans people, as well as those affected by the story, for example on single-sex refuges or women’s athletics.

We should consider the interests of contributors as part of our duty of care. We know from the Keira Bell court case and the interim Cass review that a high proportion of young people who identify as trans or non-binary have additional diagnoses, in particular autism and ADD/ADHD. They may also have issues with their mental health.

As with all our content, contributors need to give their informed consent to take part. Where we are asking contributors to discuss matters that ordinarily would be very personal or private, production teams should be mindful of the impact that giving an interview may have on the contributor. This should be part of the process of securing informed consent.

Editorial Policy has produced guidance for working with vulnerable contributors.

As interviewees can attract negative comment online, we should consider giving contributors advice on how to handle social media, in particular:

• stay away from social media around the time of the broadcast

• engage privacy settings so they cannot be messaged by strangers •

not look up their name on social media to see what comments have been made • not engage with trolls

• If necessary, abusive/threatening posts should be reported to the appropriate authorities

Production teams

Output dealing with this subject – and interactions with potential contributors - can come under intense scrutiny on social media. The techniques set out above may also be helpful for staff in dealing with hostile or inappropriate posts.

You can also direct people to BBC Action Line rather than deal with individuals direct. If you experience inappropriate pressure or abuse you should raise your concerns with your line manager.

Language:

We should aim to make our own language clear and accessible and, where needed, clarify the language used by contributors. Careful and accurate use of language and appropriate attribution in our reporting are crucial. Some of the terms used, for example ‘cis-gender’ to identify a person who has the same sex and gender identity, are not familiar to many of our audience and may be considered offensive by some.

The BBC News style guide has advice on reporting in this area, which was reviewed last year. It is included here for reference:

gender/sex

Using appropriate language is an important part of how we portray people in our stories. Sexuality, race, ethnicity or disability should not be mentioned unless they are relevant to the subject matter. But when we do focus on one aspect of a person's character, we should ensure we do not define them by it.

Gay/lesbian:

Use gay as an adjective rather than a noun (eg: two gay men - but not "two gays"). It can apply to members of both sexes, but current preferred practice is to refer to "gay men and lesbians".

For wider references, talk about LGBT people or the LGBT community (lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender). If this does not suffice, the preferred initialism is “LGBTQ”or“LGBTQ+” - the “Q” means questioning and/or queer, the “+” acknowledges not all people may feel represented by these initials. Where possible, however, initials should be avoided. The issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people can be very different and the more specific we can be with our language, the better.

If using LGBT+ or another formulation - for example in a quote – consider the likely audience of the story and whether the term needs explaining. Instead of “LGB”, for example, consider “lesbian, gay or bisexual”.

“Gender identity” means how people feel or present themselves, distinct from their biological sex or sexual orientation. Use sex to refer to a person’s physical development and gender to describe how they identify themselves. We should be aware that the concept of a gender identity is contested by some. Sex is “recorded” or “observed” at birth. Use of “assigned at birth” should be attributed.

Transgender, or trans, is an umbrella term for a person whose gender identity differs from their sex recorded at birth. A person born male who lives as a female, would typically be described as a “transgender woman” and would take the pronoun “she”. And vice versa. We generally use the term and pronoun preferred by the person in question, unless there are editorial reasons not to do so. If that’s unknown – apply that which fits with the way the person lives publicly. If reporting on someone who is making their transition public, it may be appropriate to refer to their previous identity to help audience understanding. It may also be appropriate to refer to a transition to make sense of some stories. We should not include “intersex” or people with differences of sexual development as part of this group.

Take care with the term “sex change”, unless referring specifically to the surgical element of a transition. It should not be used as a general description for a transgender person.

Queer is an adjective used by some people who find more specific terms, such as “lesbian”, “gay”, “bisexual”, “trans” and “LGBT”, too limiting to describe their romantic or sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression. Originally a pejorative term, more recently “queer” has been reclaimed by some in the LGBTQ+ community, to describe themselves. However, it is not universally accepted and has the potential to cause offence. Be careful when using the term. We should not apply the term to an individual or group unless they have already adopted it.

Non-binary is an adjective used to describe a person who does not identify as only male or only female, or who may identify as both. It is increasingly common for non-binary people to use the singular pronoun “they”. We should not ascribe a gender to someone non-binary. But we may need to explain any use of “they” as a singular pronoun to the audience for clarity. This could be without explicitly mentioning their gender, however (eg: [First name surname] - who uses "they" and "them" as personal pronouns - is…).

“Sexual preference” suggests a person chooses to be gay or bisexual. For the same reason, phrases such as “alternative lifestyle” should also be avoided where possible. Instead of “sexual preference” and “admits being gay”, consider “sexual orientation” and “is gay”.