Chief Statistician Scotland has published Guidance on the collection of data on sex and gender

[334bu]

www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802013849
Here is link to Guidance. Haven't had time to check if there any differences between this and draft.

www.gov.scot/isbn/9781802013832 (Analysis of responses)

www.gov.scot/publications/sex-and-gender-in-data-working-group-draft-data-collection-guidance-consultation-responses/

It is GenderWoo.

The statistician thinks there is such a thing as ‘self-defined sex’ and that is how people answer.

Bollocks to that.

I can’t get over this! Just speechless really. How can they not want to collect sex specific data? I’m not a conspiracy theorist but it seems incredible that this has infiltrated the statisticians!

Astonishing they’re pushing on with this after the court case over England and Wales. Guess they must think women in Scotland won’t object in the same way. I hope they’re wrong.

What can we do?

Happy to dig for the women of Scotland.

Dig me a bloody hole and I'll get in gladly.

'There are different aspects to a person’s sex:
• Biological: as determined by a person’s anatomy, which is produced by a
combination of their chromosomal, hormonal, genital and gonadal
characteristics, and their interactions.
• Legal: typically legal sex is their sex registered at birth. However, for a trans
person with a full Gender Recognition Certificate, their legal sex is their
acquired sex..8
• Self-defined: a person’s innate sense of whether they are female or male'

Happy to get the shovel out of the shed should it be necessary.

There are different aspects to a person’s age:
• Biological: as determined by a person’s anatomy, which is produced by a combination of their skeletal, muscular and dermatological condition. "How old are you, really?
• Legal: typically legal age is their age registered at birth. However, for a transageperson with a full Age Recognition Certificate, their legal age is their acquired age.. "How old would you like to be?"
• Self-defined: a person’s innate sense of whether they are old or young. "How old do you think people think you are?"

There are different aspects to a person’s race:
• Biological: as determined by a person’s ancestry, which is produced by a combination of their genetic inheritance, expressed in physical things like hair texture and skin colour.
• Legal: typically how they are recognised in society by others, including everyone who knows them.
• Self-defined: a person’s innate sense of whether they really really like reggie or HipHop, or sometimes if they like curry.

What is so annoying is that that para I posted above comes AFTER much careful discussion of sex and gender/gender identity, and noting the dangers of conflating or confusing the two.

So they come SO CLOSE.

And then say you can self define your sex. Which means it's all to shit.

Im sorry the Chief Statistician in Scotland thinks it in his gift to re-define your reality and who you are Arabella, I would be raging.

The fucking nerve of the guy, personally I would struggle not to go round to his office and re-define the reality of his nose.

I’ve always been so proud to be Scottish. ❤️ Not anymore. SNP are ruining Scotland! I am so sad

What can we do? I am so mad. But can’t be seen to be “transphobic” due to my job as a teacher.

@ArabellaScott

Dig me a bloody hole and I'll get in gladly.

I'd advise you to claim refugee status somewhere but where would you go that be impervious to this irrationality and disregard of material reality?

It's a general path to authoritarianism and it's embraced in countries that are refusing to consider history and the perfect storm of social, political, and environmental pressures that will play out in the coming months and years.

I am hopeful that the OSR will be doing something robust about this:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/watchdog-queries-trans-self-identify-census-plan-5bdv923xk?shareToken=3ddc15e406dee3520613f9ff28837a7a&fbclid=IwAR1mlThuWtI4LGcLE-H5NnHAQyb6uJGkQSvB9pEzKDrIvtTHbyCNdPI2DvE

Quote from above article:

'“The regulator has concluded that the NRS plan would make it impossible to compare Scotland with the rest of the UK. Properly understanding the differences between women’s and men’s experience in Scotland depends on the NRS following the regulator’s wise advice.”'

The Chief Statistician for Scotland is Prof. Roger Halliday.

I think it would be reasonable to believe that a government Chief Statistician would understand the value in collecting accurate data and how that data would be employed in the drafting of government policy, particularly with regards to healthcare, children's services, education and the running of the nation's economy.

Not recording sex accurately through a national census would have a huge impact on the accuracy of any such exercise, and I reckon the vast majority of professional statisticians and data scientists would be aghast at any effort to do precisely that.

I suspect a 'Chief Statistician' for a country would be a member of a number of professional groups - The Royal Statistical Society for one, which attempt to maintain high standards in the profession.

That profession, thanks to Prof. Halliday, has now been rendered a joke, subject to widespread ridicule and a sense that it isn't actually a proper profession.

I reckon the likes of the RSS, or whatever statistic-related professional bodies Dr. Halliday is a member of, should be requesting he attend to a meeting place of their choice to explain how he has not brought his profession into disrepute.

Article on this guidance from MBM:

murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2021/09/22/mbm-response-to-the-scottish-government-data-collection-guidance-on-sex-gender-identity-and-trans-status/?fbclid=IwAR3adIztrRKfRzjJ-RG74p7w57CVGbzcYr7NVLHXtL-zxpefvX2WXV2cEBk

'From the outset the guidance is muddled and unscientific, asserting that ‘biological sex’, ‘legal sex’, and ‘a person’s innate sense of whether they are female or male’ (i.e. self-defined gender identity) are ‘different aspects’ of a person’s sex.'

'Scotland has already lost robust, high-quality data on sex across a number of policy areas through the adoption of data collection practices that muddy biological sex and gender self-identification. This guidance will cement that loss. It will further damage our ability to understand how sex operates as a determinant of social, economic, and physical outcomes, and to redress discrimination on the basis of sex.

The burden of proof that data on biological sex no longer matters lies with the Scottish Government. Ignoring the advice of academic data experts, the Scottish Government has provided none.'

Bookmarking to read as it's too rage inducing for now

Never has the phrase lies, damn lies and statistics felt so true.

Police Scotland record your chosen gender, your crimes will be recorded in your chosen gender, spend time in a prison of your chosen gender, any crimes you commit against your fellow prisoners will be recorded under your chosen gender.

Lets all be surprised when the amount of violent/ sex based crime "women" commit has a massive increase over the next few years.

What is the point of a Chief Statistician who doesn’t care about data accuracy?

Well, I suppose as words and concepts are fluid and changeable, the meaning of 'data' has changed to a conceptual one.

@ArabellaScott

Quote from above article:

'“The regulator has concluded that the NRS plan would make it impossible to compare Scotland with the rest of the UK. Properly understanding the differences between women’s and men’s experience in Scotland depends on the NRS following the regulator’s wise advice.”'

Maybe this is the intention- can't compare can't complain?

Seems to have worked for the SNP on education in Scotland (withdrawn from global rankings)