NCAVP Submits Response to Proposed Changes to National Crime Victimization Survey
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced a change to the National Crime Victimization Survey that would raise the age for questions asking about sexual orientation and gender identity from 16 to 18 years old claiming concerns about the potential sensitivity of these questions for adolescents. Through our collaboration on the National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence, NCAVP has submitted comments to the Bureau of Justice Statistics denouncing this action as harmful to LGBTQ communities and dispelling the myth that these questions are harmful for adolescents.
For over 20 years, NCAVP has released reports with information on how LGBTQ and HIV communities are impacted by violence, including hate violence and intimate partner violence. Through these reports, we have witnessed the power of information and data collection in advocating for the needs of LGBTQ survivors of violence.
Simultaneously, we advocate for data collection systems that are sensitive to the needs of survivors, private, and confidential. The NCVS already meets national standards for data collection, and this decision by the BJS should be called out for what it is – a political move that aims to erase the experiences LGBTQ survivors of violence.
NCAVP will continue to advocate for safe and inclusive data collection systems so that our experiences are counted and the violence that we experience can be meaningfully addressed.
Read full comments: NCVS Institute Comments