Today, Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ-3) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), reintroduced the LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act to require federal surveys to ask participants to voluntarily disclose data on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Collecting this vital data will ensure lawmakers and agencies have the information they need to adequately address the needs of LGBTQ people across the country.
“LGBTQ youth understand the power of data. By being counted they are seen and served,” Sam Brinton, Head of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project said in a statement. “The Trevor Project works every day to make sure that surveys include demographic data like sexual orientation and gender identity and that these important factors are collected in surveys like the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and the National Violent Death Reporting System.”
The Trevor Project is proud to stand with Rep. Grijalva, Sen. Baldwin, the nearly 100 cosponsors in Congress, and organizations like the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Center for American Progress who have championed this legislation. Together, we are committed to using research and data to meet our communities needs. The data collected by these national surveys is crucial to The Trevor Project’s efforts to continually improve our life-saving services for LGBTQ youth and strengthening the knowledge base used by organizations around the globe.
“The LGBT Data Inclusion Act will expand the number of ways the country serves LGBTQ youth by understanding their needs and their experiences,” Brinton continued. “Its introduction today is the first step in the important conversation needed in Congress on the power of data in the lives of the LGBTQ community.”
