Non-binary people's experiences in Scotland: evidence review

Considerations and Limitations

There are limitations to the data and evidence presented in this report that must be considered:

• This Evidence Review draws from a range of sources, where the wording of questions asked, and the way non-binary is defined, differs. A glossary of terms can be found in Annex A.
• The categories of non-binary, gender diverse and gender questioning may change over time and thus, are not static which makes measuring these categories complex.
• Under the recommended questions from the Office of the Chief Statistician and aligning with Scotland’s census, ‘Sex, gender identity, trans status - data collection and publication guidance’^[4], a trans identity such as ‘non-binary’ can be entered into a free text box after the participant has answered that they consider themself to be trans or have a trans history. However, some non-binary people may not identify as trans, so it may not fully capture the number of non-binary people.
• As highlighted throughout existing evidence in this report, discrimination (e.g. deadnaming^[ii], misuse of pronouns, expectations of gender binary, inappropriate questions) can result in non-binary people feeling uncomfortable sharing their gender identity which creates challenges for data collection in surveys.
• The existing evidence, including the census^[5], shows that a higher proportion of 16–35-year-olds identify as non-binary, therefore there is less evidence about under 16 and over 35-year-old non-binary people.
• Although non-binary people’s experiences are often included under the umbrella term of trans or gender diverse throughout the literature^[6],^[7] it should be acknowledged that there may be some identified differences in the lived experiences of these groups. Where possible, this report has considered sources and research that aim to understand non-binary people's specific experiences.

Notes on sampling, question wording and definitions of non-binary will be signposted throughout this document where these have implications for the findings. Further detail can be found in the source publications.