Promising Practice

Knowledge and opinions about intersex: A baseline measurement in the Netherlands and Flanders

Kennis en opvattingen over intersekse: Een nulmeting in Nederland en Vlaanderen
This is a new initiative to collect survey data on knowledge and opinions about intersex persons among a large population. It includes questions about self-identification as an intersex person.
Štát
Belgium
Guidelines
Map existing sources
Mainstream equality data
Enhance validity and reliability
Collect information on self-identification
Ground of discrimination
Intersex / variation of sex characteristics

 


In this page:


Why was the practice needed?

The researchers develop and field a new survey measurement: the IKAS (Intersex Knowledge and Attitudes Survey). It contains 4 knowledge items, a definition of intersex, and 8 attitude items (which together formed a highly reliable scale). This brief questionnaire can be used in monitoring research. 

Objectives:

The project had two goals: 

  1. to develop a questionnaire to map knowledge and views on intersex people; 
  2. to carry out a baseline measurement in the Dutch and Flemish population. 

There is no explicit link to a legal provision, action plan or policy framework. The study’s results and conclusions are relevant to monitor, understand and possibly remedy the disadvantaged position of LGB adolescents regarding poorer well-being, poorer quality of social relationships and more unhealthy lifestyles.

Policy framework:

In the Netherlands and the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium, Flanders, stakeholders have been brought together to conduct research on this topic in the past years. It was concluded that views on intersex people have hardly been investigated overall, and not at all yet in the Netherlands and Flanders. Therefore, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science called for carrying out a baseline measurement of attitudes and knowledge about intersex in the Dutch population together with the government in Flanders. It also included developing a tool to replicate the measurement in other populations or when monitoring research. The following institutions cooperated: Rutgers in the Netherlands and the Transgender Information Point (UZ Gent) in Belgium. The report is the final product of this collaboration.

How was it implemented?

The questionnaire was developed using insights from experts and a thorough review of the relevant literature. An advisory committee, including experts and individuals with lived experience, reviewed the initial draft. Following their input, the revised questionnaire was tested with 10 individuals from various backgrounds. These participants provided feedback on the clarity of the questions and shared how the questions influenced their responses. Based on this feedback, further refinements were made to the questionnaire. 

Subsequent adjustments were informed by additional guidance from the advisory committee, Ipsos market research, and the evolving understanding of the researchers. After revisions to improve clarity and conciseness, the final version was distributed by Ipsos to a sample from an ISO certified panel in the Netherlands and Flanders., gathering responses from 2004 participants. 

The final IKAS questionnaire was developed through rigorous item and scale analyses. While promising, its usefulness, reliability, and validity require further evaluation across different populations, languages and regions/countries. 

Activities: 

  1. Development of a questionnaire to map knowledge and views on intersex people 
    • Literature review of (international) measurements; consultation of experts; pre-testing 
  2. Baseline measurement in the Dutch and Flemish population 
    • Conducting and analysing the survey 

Challenges and lessons learned:

Knowledge of intersex people is limited among the general population. Hence, the survey contains both knowledge questions - before any definition of intersex was provided to the respondent - as well as knowledge and attitude questions after such a definition was provided to the respondent. 

Self-identification as an intersex person is also related to one’s knowledge of intersex people. 

Eight persons defined themselves as an intersex person before a definition was provided, but seven of them did not after the definition was given. 

Twenty-seven persons defined themselves as an intersex person after the definition was provided. Therefore, any survey needs to include an explanation of the term.

Outputs

The researchers developed the IKAS (Intersex Knowledge and Attitudes Survey), featuring: 

  • 4 knowledge items; 
  • a definition of intersex; 
  • 8 attitude items forming a highly reliable scale. 

This approach is adaptable for use in other EU Member States, but its usefulness, reliability, and validity require further testing across diverse samples, languages and regions/countries.

The second output is a report (in Dutch with an English summary) on the level and determinants of knowledge and attitudes on intersex persons. Data were gathered among 2,004 respondents.

Attitudes towards intersex persons were rather positive.

Negative attitudes were more common among individuals with less intersex knowledge, older adults, men, those with strong religious beliefs, and those with limited contact with minorities. Negative attitudes were also common among those with more gender conforming attitudes.

Key success factors

This project builds on knowledge and expertise from a network of stakeholders that was established in recent years in the Netherlands and the northern part of Belgium, Flanders.  

Technical information

  • Data sources covered: Household or individual surveys
  • Areas of life covered: Others: Knowledge and attitudes
  • Target audience:
    • Actors: Government, equality bodies, civil society organisations, media, general population as well as researchers and research institutions that want to measure knowledge and attitudes towards intersex persons 
    • Target group: General population, intersex people. 
  • Duration
  • Geographical scope: National, both within the Netherlands as well as in the Flanders region of Belgium 
  • Leading institution: In the Netherlands: Rutgers, expert centre sexuality (in Dutch: Rutgers, expertisecentrum seksualiteit). In Flanders, Belgium: the ‘transgender information point’ UZ Gent (university hospital Gent). In Dutch: ‘transgender infopunt’ UZ Gent, Universitair ziekenhuis Gent).  
  • Other organisations involved/consulted: None specifically, although various experts (academics and from civil society organisations) were consulted. 
  • Financial & human resources: Budget: n.a. ; Source of the budget: The Dutch ministry of Education, Culture and Science asked for and funded a baseline measurement, and the Flemish government decided to collaborate in this project.; Staff: n.a.

Contacts

  • In the Netherlands: Rutgers, expert centre sexuality (in Dutch: Rutgers, expertisecentrum seksualiteit). Contact via online contact form.
  • In Flanders: the ‘transgender information point’ UZ Gent (university hospital Gent). In Dutch: ‘transgender infopunt’ UZ Gent, Universitair ziekenhuis Gent).
  • Email: info@uzgent.be or more specifically: contact@transgenderinfo.be
See Also