UK’s upcoming digital verification bill becomes part of trans rights debates

The UK is planning a new legislation supporting digital verification services called the Data (Use and Access) Bill which aims to simplify exchanging citizen data by digitizing key public registries. The legislation, however, has found itself under attack from the gender-critical organization Sex Matters which says that data on sex and gender held in government agencies’ databases should only reflect biological sex.

The DUA law will allow skipping paper documents and going digital, making it easier for citizens to access services and do business and for private sector services to access people’s data for identity or eligibility checks. Databases held by government offices such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Passport Office (HMPO) and the National Health Service (NHS) Personal Demographic Service are considered authoritative sources for citizen information.

Sex Matters, however, says that the information that is currently recorded as “sex” or “gender” as a synonym in these databases “neither reflects biological sex nor certified sex.”

Trans people in the UK may legally alter their sex, including their biometric residence card, driving license and NHS record. Obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) also allows them to change their birth certificate and their sex marker with HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions.

“Public bodies including the NHS, the passport office, the driving license authority and many others have been slapdash, mixing up sex and gender identity and making it impossible to tell from official records who is really male and who is really female,” says the group’s CEO Maya Forstater. “This undermines everyone’s safety and privacy.”

The registered charity, which advocates that sex in humans is “real, binary, immutable and important,” has become a part of the country’s politically charged debates over transgender rights.

The gender-critical group has been campaigning against gender-self ID and the removal of sex-based terms in healthcare and the justice system. Among its more controversial stances are excluding transgender women from female-only services and spaces as well as opposition to banning conversion therapy. The practice, which seeks to change a person’s sexual or gender identity, has been rejected by several health organizations.

The proposed Data (Use and Access) Bill was introduced in the UK Parliament in October and is still under debate. According to the government, the regulation will save millions of hours for police and NHS employees, boosting the UK economy of £10 billion (US$12.6 billion) over 10 years.

Article Topics

Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUA)  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  legislation  |  UK