Safe Spaces and Safe Places

TLDR

Transgender individuals in the United States face significant interpersonal safety threats, yet little research in HCI and CSCW has documented their technology‑mediated safety and harm experiences. This study interviewed 12 transgender and non‑binary participants to understand how they find, create, and navigate safe spaces using technology. Semi‑structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants to explore their strategies for locating, establishing, and navigating technology‑mediated safe spaces. The analysis revealed that transgender users encounter both targeted and incidental harms—originating from insiders or outsiders—through technology, with some violations tied to design flaws and others to broader social dynamics, underscoring challenges and opportunities for building safer digital environments.

Abstract

Transgender individuals in the United States face significant threats to interpersonal safety; however, there has as yet been relatively little research in the HCI and CSCW communities to document transgender individuals' experiences of technology-mediated safety and harm. In this study, we interviewed 12 transgender and non-binary individuals to understand how they find, create, and navigate safe spaces using technology. Managing safety was a universal concern for our transgender participants, and they experienced complex manifestations of harm through technology. We found that harmful experiences for trans users could arise as targeted or incidental affronts, as sourced from outsiders or insiders, and as directed against individuals or entire communities.. Notably, some violations implicated technology design, while others tapped broader social dynamics. Reading our findings through the notions of 'space" and 'place," we unpack challenges and opportunities for building safer futures with transfolk, other vulnerable users, and their allies.