Add birth sex to special category data under GDPR
Under UK GDPR, special category data is personal data that needs more protection because it is sensitive. It includes "sexual orientation", which can protect gay people; this does not protect transgender people. We urge the Government to add birth sex to the list.
Signatures
52
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 52/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 52/100,000
- 10 APR 2026Petition closedFinal total: 52 signatures
- 10 OCT 2025Petition opened for signatures
Background
A Supreme Court judgement found that a person's sex for the purpose of the Equality Act is their "biological sex" and that this describes sex at birth. We are concerned about how that information will be recorded and verified for transgender people. We feel making vulnerable groups easy to identify can increase the risk of harassment and discrimination. As with sexuality or religion, we believe birth sex should be "need to know", and protected from potentially accidental/malicious disclosure.