‘Sometimes, we don’t know if we’re getting abused’: discussions of intimate partner violence and HIV risk among transgender women

Abstract

Transgender women are among the populations at highest risk for HIV in the USA and have elevated risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). There is an urgent need for integrated HIV-IPV prevention interventions for transgender women. Using qualitative methods, we explored transgender women’s lived experiences of IPV and the relationship between IPV and HIV risk. Using thematic analysis, we identified four key concepts that warrant inclusion in the development of models for IPV and HIV interventions: (1) considering the boundaries of IPV; (2) normalising expectations of chronic violence; (3) relationship safety; (4) calls for trans-affirming and empowering services.

Keywords:

• Transgender women
• intimate partner violence
• HIV

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge our collaborators, Jaye Watts, the Thundermist Health Center, and Project Weber/RENEW.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the US National Institute of Mental Health [Grant No. R34MH119968].