Inclusive reporting is more important than ever as basic democratic freedoms are under attack in the U.S. More and more, LGBTQ+ people are being excluded from spaces like public bathrooms and youth sports, the government is restricting their access to medical care, and some states are even changing laws to invalidate trans people’s driver’s licenses.

LGBTQ+ individuals and communities rarely have the opportunity to see themselves in mainstream reporting. This problem is exacerbated in data reporting because of the lack of LGBTQ+-inclusive data available; however, just because data is difficult to acquire doesn’t make it less important or worthwhile to pursue.

Starting from nothing can be daunting, so here’s a short introduction to some resources and tactics that can help your LGBTQ+ data reporting.

Trusted non-government resources have reliable data

While the U.S. federal government has removed and erased the limited information and data about LGBTQ+ communities that it did have, some non-government organizations have been collecting and preserving data for decades.

The Williams Institute has been advocating for LGBTQ+ equality in policy since the early 2000s and maintains a wide variety of data about queer people in the U.S. This includes data about cohabitating couples, parenting, and HIV criminalization.

The Trevor Project is a youth-specific advocacy nonprofit. It is often best known for its suicide prevention resources, but also provides a variety of reports and resources for journalists that include relevant data from the Trevor Project’s in-house surveys. Both of these organizations have built trust with the LGBTQ+ community over time and provide well-vetted data that’s article-ready.

Though it can be useful to seek out LGBTQ+-specific organizations, many organizations that don’t solely focus on these issues still have inclusive data. Pew Research Center researches a broad range of topics and frequently produces reports that include perspectives from LGBTQ+ Americans and measure public opinion about LGBTQ+ people.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, some organizations only tackle a very specific topic, but do so inclusively. For example, SEICUS is a nonprofit that focuses exclusively on sex education policy and advocacy. Part of their efforts is to make sex education more LGBTQ+ inclusive, so the organization keeps track of whether each state requires inclusive sex education. Organizations like SEICUS can be found for nearly every beat and some may have relevant data.

Ask experts if you don’t know where to start

Like reporting on any other story, expert sources can be amazing resources for guiding LGBTQ+ data stories. The Trans News Initiative is a collaboration between the Trans Journalists Association, Polygraph, and the University of Miami School of Communication that highlights how trans individuals and communities are covered in the news. The data tool can be used to show where trans communities are undercovered, but the team behind the tool can also provide reporting and data guidance.

By the same token, asking experts on your beat, including scientists, researchers, advocates, and community members, where they suggest finding data can lead to unexpected archives and discoveries. They may have ideas about where to find forgotten data or what available data might be used as a proxy for identifying members of the LGBTQ+ community, such as same-sex cohabitating couples, historical medical documentation, legal records, and more.

Create the queer data you want to see in the world

Despite reporters’ best efforts, sometimes the data that would make a news story sing just doesn’t exist. When this happens, the only option is to go without or make it from scratch. Organizations like the Data Rescue Project have made strides in collecting and preserving public data, even if that data is later erased from government websites. Newsrooms can conduct surveys of their own, especially if their goal is to report on their local LGBTQ+ community. In such cases, inclusive survey design is of the utmost importance, so user testing a draft of the survey with a handful of people in the newsroom or in the community is essential.

Additional resources and inspiration

There’s not enough space in one article to provide comprehensive guidance about LGBTQ+ data reporting; however, there are a few categories of resources that are important to highlight. First, there are a wide variety of news organizations that focus on or exclusively report on LGBTQ+ communities and issues. Some of these include Gayta Science, The 19th, LOOKOUT News, The Buckeye Flame, and Queer Kentucky. There are also some organizations that don't explicitly or exclusively report on LGBTQ+ people, but do so well and regularly, like The Pudding.

Finally, there are a variety of guides, stylebooks, and other coverage resources that can help with learning more about LGBTQ+ data reporting. The book Queer Data by Kevin Guyan is dense with information about inclusive surveys and national statistics, The TJA Stylebook and Coverage Guide has both evergreen and event-specific guidance for journalists. Additionally, the Urban Institute has produced multiple volumes of The Do No Harm Project, which explains best practices for a wide variety of data questions, including tips and tricks for LGBTQ+ data reporting.