The World at One, Radio 4, 21 September 2023

Complaint

The programme followed up a coroner’s investigation into the death of a trans woman, who took their own life in May 2022 at the age of 20 and included an interview with the sister of the deceased.  A listener complained that the programme was misleading, particularly in referring to the deceased as “a young woman” when that had not been her legal status, and lacking in impartiality by using “activist language” and presenting “an overall message pushing what’s called for by gender activist groups”.  The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality.


Outcome

The programme’s focus was not on the controversies associated with gender identity and trans rights but on the level of help and healthcare available to trans people.  The terms used in the programme reflected the BBC News policy of respecting the terms in which trans individuals describe themselves and, in the context of the item’s focus, were neither inaccurate nor an implied endorsement of a particular agenda.

Not upheld