FOR the first time in history, the England and Wales Census 2021 asked residents aged 16+ their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The results for Harlow are below.

Sexual orientation is an umbrella term covering sexual identity, attraction, and behaviour. For an individual respondent, these may not be the same. For example, someone in an opposite-sex relationship may also experience same-sex attraction, and vice versa. This means the statistics should be interpreted purely as showing how people responded to the question, rather than being about whom they are attracted to or their actual relationships.

A spokesperson for the ONS said: “The question on sexual orientation was new for Census 2021. We have previously collected data on sexual orientation through the Annual Population Survey (APS), but including the question on the census questionnaire enables a much more detailed understanding of sexual orientation in England and Wales. The data will meet the needs for better quality information on the LGB+ population (“gay or lesbian”, “bisexual” or “other sexual orientation”) for monitoring and supporting anti-discrimination duties under the Equality Act 2010.

“The question was voluntary and was only asked of people aged 16 years and over. People were asked “Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?”. The different sexual orientations that people could choose from included:

• straight or heterosexual
• gay or lesbian
• bisexual
• other sexual orientation

If they selected “Other sexual orientation”, they were asked to write in the sexual orientation with which they identified.

“In total, 44.9 million people answered the question (92.5% of the population aged 16 years and over)”.

For more details, click below.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS070/editions/2021/versions/1