Adult Sexual Assault Severity among Transgender People of Color: The Impact of Double Marginalization

ABSTRACT

Transgender individuals are at heightened risk for sexual assault compared to cisgender people. The term transgender refers to a person whose gender identity does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Existing theories posit that systems of stigma contribute to disproportionate risks; however, scant research has examined the impact of multiple marginalized identities. The current study included 235 transgender adults in the US investigating the effect of gender expression and race on adult sexual assault (ASA) severity. Participants completed an anonymous online survey, including the Revised Sexual Experiences Survey. We examined whether people of color (POC) who are more likely to be perceived as transgender (vs. cisgender) were at increased ASA risk. A multiple regression analysis revealed a significant interaction, ΔF (1, 221) = 4.51, p = .04, indicating a positive relationship between being perceived as transgender and ASA severity, only among POC. Transgender POC who are perceived as transgender may be at increased risk of ASA, perhaps due to their doubly marginalized identities. Victimization severity may vary based on gender visibility. Results have implications for increased attention to intersectionality in the assessment and treatment of transgender clients as well as perpetrator-focused and societal-level interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Transgender
• sexual assault
• people of color
• intersectionality

Acknowledgments

Data collection and participant compensation was supported by the Kinsey Institute Student Research Grant, the University of Washington Psychology Bolles Fellowship and the APAGS Basic Psychological Science Research Grant (PI: Jennifer Staples, MS).

Disclosure of Interest

Jennifer Staples, PhD and Caitlin Fuller, M. A., declare that they have no conflicts to report.

Ethical Standard and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation [institutional and national] and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.