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Legal framework
The Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, established in December 2022, is the Belgian equality body for gender discrimination and is implementing the European Framework Directive. The institute must promote equality between women and men, and combat all forms of discrimination or inequality based on gender (cf. Act on the Establishment of the Institute 16 December 2002, Belgian Official Gazette 31 December 2002, hereinafter: 'Institute Establishment Act').
The institute has the legal mandate to conduct, develop, support and coordinate research on gender and gender equality and to make recommendations to the government, private persons or institutions (cf. Article 4 Founding Act of the Institute). Within this framework, the institute has the explicit legal mission to assist victims of gender discrimination (cf. Article 4 Founding Act of the Institute).
To enable the institute to properly fulfil its statutory mission, the present research assignment was necessary, as established by the Directive 2006/54/EC.
Policy framework
Sexism is an important issue for the institute for several reasons. Firstly, Belgium is one of the few countries where the fight against sexism is enshrined in law, as established in the Sexism law of 22 May 2014, which amended the previous law of 10 May 2007. Moreover, in 2017, 18% of the reports received by the institute related to sexism, establishing the need to follow up on this issue. Finally, the institute is convinced that entrenched sexist beliefs are one of the main causes of the persistence of gender inequality and gender-based violence, thus rendering the fight against sexism one of the institute's core tasks.
The study’s results are meant to further support the institute’s functioning, to underpin the handling of complaints, to help guide the fight against sexism, and to raise awareness about this issue among the wider public.
Sources
The institute seeks to use objective data, such as official statistics and national databases. When objective data are not available, the institute conducts its own research. This is the case with the #YouToo? Survey, which required information on sexist behaviour, opinions on gender equality, and obstacles to reporting violence to the police.
The #YouToo? Survey measures sexism in Belgium and encompasses several areas of life. It provided the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men with much needed data on societal phenomena.
The survey is the first measurement of gender identity in the entire population.
The methodology combined a random sample of the Belgian population with an open survey, allowing comparisons and in-depth analyses. Moreover, the survey included many open questions, thus proving to be a valuable source of qualitative data as well.
Questions on gender identity
Respondents were asked about sex characteristics, gender identity and gender expression (Q125-127; Q136). Measuring gender identity in a way that works for everybody proved challenging, as there is no widespread consensus on terminology. People who are not familiar with the LGBTQI+ movement tend to be less aware of specific terminology and, for example, respondents answering ‘I don’t know’ might a) be doubting their gender identity or b) not know what e.g. ‘transgender person’ means. The institute therefore recommends the combination of different types of questions.
The discussion of the topic is available in Dutch in the results of the study and in the research note. The discussion is also available in French.
Comments made in the open questions show that some people feel resistance or even outright aversion to gender neutral language and gender inclusiveness. Therefore, a balance must be struck between formulating the questions in such a way that works for transgender and non-binary people, while also not losing respondents who hold more conservative views on these issues.
At the same time, it is an Equality Body’s task to promote gender neutral language and gender inclusiveness among the general public and to increase its acceptability.
It is recommended to offer a third option to the gender question, even though transgender people often identify as either women or men. A specific question on identifying as a transgender person should be present as well.
Asking the general public about sex characteristics requires more sensibilisation to the topic, as people are often not aware of the subject.
There should always be a possibility to prefer not to answer questions about gender identity and gender expression, or sex characteristics.
The research findings were communicated to the stakeholders and the public. Furthermore, they were used for policy preparation and in answering complaints.
The research methodology and findings were published as short digital reports. These can be downloaded in French and Dutch.
The questionnaire is available in Dutch, French and English. The institute can also share methodological advice.
Key success factors were assigning a budget and staff working hours. Other key success factors were the brainstorm sessions on sexism and the detailed feedback on the questionnaire by colleagues.