Gender Violence

TLDR

Discrimination and prejudice against transgendered people are pervasive, with economic discrimination and violence linked to a broader social climate that penalizes nonconforming gender identities. The study collected 402 responses via event‑ and volunteer‑distributed online questionnaires over a 12‑month period (April 1996–April 1997). Over half of participants reported lifetime harassment or violence, a quarter experienced a violent incident, and economic discrimination was the strongest predictor of transgender‑related violent incidents, underscoring the need for hate‑crime legislation and employment protections.

Abstract

Abstract There is a pervasive pattern of discrimination and prejudice against transgendered people within society. Both economic discrimination and experiencing violence could be the result of a larger social climate that severely sanctions people for not conforming to society's norms concerning gender; as such, both would be strongly associated with each other. Questionnaires were distributed to people either through events or through volunteers, and made available upon the World Wide Web. A sample of 402 cases was collected over the span of 12 months (April 1996-April 1997). We found that over half the people within this sample experienced some form of harassment or violence within their lifetime, with a quarter experiencing a violent incident. Further investigation found that experiencing economic discrimination because one is transgendered had the strongest association with experiencing a transgender related violent incident. Economic discrimination was related to transgendered people's experience with violence. Therefore, both hate crimes legislation and employment protections are needed for transgendered individuals.