Racial/Ethnic Disparities in History of Incarceration, Experiences of Victimization, and Associated Health Indicators Among Transgender Women in the U.S.

TLDR

National data on transgender women’s incarceration, victimization, and health associations are limited. The study calls for interventions and policy changes to support transgender women during incarceration and after release. Using a convenience sample of 3,878 transgender adults from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, the authors applied multivariable logistic regression to examine incarceration and victimization by race/ethnicity and health indicators. Approximately 19% of transgender women reported ever being incarcerated, with Black and Native American/Alaskan Native participants more likely to have been incarcerated and to report HIV positivity, while nearly half of those incarcerated experienced victimization—particularly Black, Latina, and mixed‑race women—highlighting disproportionate incarceration, victimization, and adverse health outcomes.

Abstract

Limited national data document the prevalence of incarceration among transgender women, experiences of victimization while incarcerated, and associations of transgender status with health. Data were from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), a large convenience sample of transgender adults in the U.S., collected between September 2008 and March 2009. Respondents who indicated a transfeminine gender identity were included in the current study (n = 3,878). Multivariable logistic regression was used to model ever being incarcerated and experiencing victimization while incarcerated as a function of race/ethnicity and health-related indicators. Overall, 19.3% reported having ever been incarcerated. Black and Native American/Alaskan Native transgender women were more likely to report a history of incarceration than White (non-Hispanic) respondents, and those with a history of incarceration were more likely to report negative health-related indicators, including self-reporting as HIV-positive. Among previously incarcerated respondents, 47.0% reported victimization while incarcerated. Black, Latina, and mixed race transgender women were more likely to report experiences of victimization while incarcerated. Transgender women reported disproportionately high rates of incarceration and victimization while incarcerated, as well as associated negative health-related indicators. Interventions and policy changes are needed to support transgender women while incarcerated and upon release.