Experiences of Violence Among Transgender Women in Puerto Rico: An Underestimated Problem

ABSTRACT

Violence is a public health concern faced on a daily basis by transgender women. Literature has documented how it adversely affects quality of life and health and in some instances leads to homicide. Considering the lack of research documenting the experiences of violence among transgender women, the objective of this article was to explore manifestations of violence among this population in Puerto Rico. The data presented in this article are part of a larger study on transgender/transsexual health in Puerto Rico. For the purpose of this article we focus on the quantitative data analysis. Participants (N = 59 transgender women) were recruited via respondent driven sampling. Implications and specific recommendations are discussed in light of these findings.

KEYWORDS:

• Discrimination
• Puerto Rico
• responding driven sampling
• transgender
• violence

Acknowledgments

We want to acknowledge the collaboration of Sofia Isabel Marrero Cruz in the recruitment process as well as the participants who gave their time to support this study. We also want to acknowledge the important contribution of all the members of TRANSforma team.

Funding

This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA; 1R21DA032288-01). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIDA or the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Nelson Varas-Díaz is included in this study via NIDA support from grant 1K02DA035122.

Notes

¹ Transgender woman is a transgender person who was assigned male at birth but whose gender identity is that of a woman.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA; 1R21DA032288-01). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIDA or the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Nelson Varas-Díaz is included in this study via NIDA support from grant 1K02DA035122.