Introduction to the special issue: queer and trans people’s experiences of sexual violence

We, the guest editors, have come to the topic of queer and trans experiences of sexual violence from different paths even though we started our careers in Psychology at the same institution (Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!). Dr. Anderson is, first and foremost, a violence researcher, and Flanders a queer and trans health researcher. However, we have come together to collaborate in the last few years in recognition of how little scholars in the fields of violence research (frequently named violence against women) and sexual and gender minority (SGM) health research collaborate despite the many intersections and overlapping work of the fields. These fields have a great deal in common – both are invested in improving the lives of people who are marginalised. Yet, we saw a need to foster greater space and dialogue for violence researchers and SGM health researchers in psychology and related disciplines regarding the stark sexual violence disparities SGM people experience. We see this special issue as constituting a way in which this dialogue can be continued, as well as serving as an important resource on SGM sexual violence for both researchers and clinicians.

Prior research has consistently demonstrated that SGM people experience sexual victimisation at rates significantly higher than cisgender heterosexual people (e.g., Walters, Chen & Breiding, 2013; James et al., 2016). Despite this information, there is very little published research on what factors make SGM people more vulnerable for victimisation; what their post-victimisation experiences are like; how violence relates to other health outcomes for SGM people; or strategies for reducing SGM sexual victimisation. This is particularly true for bisexual and trans people, as well as SGM People of Colour. The researchers in this special issue have helped provide greater information for these topics, which we hope will inform further research, sexual violence prevention programming, and clinical work.

A number of the included papers address the varying factors that predict rates of sexual victimisation for SGM people, as well as how victimisation relates to other health outcomes. Cogan, Scholl, Lee, Cole, and Davis (this issue), as well as well as Marx, Hatchel, Mehring, and Espelage (this issue) have addressed predictive factors for sexual violence and suicidality amongst trans and gender diverse people, whereas Drescher and colleagues (this issue) have investigated how sexual violence relates to other outcomes, including suicidality and homelessness, among trans people. Scheer, McConocha, Behari, and Pachankis (this issue) outline a project on sexual orientation disparities with sexual victimisation and alcohol use among young women, and Norris and colleagues (this issue) have further discussed how racial and ethnic identity combined with sexual orientation connects to sexual victimisation and substance use.

Other authors in this special issue specifically investigate outcomes related to sexual violence. For instance, Newins, Wilson, and Kanefsky (this issue) researched how posttraumatic cognitions relate to post-assault outcomes among sexual minority people, while Hequembourg, Blayney, Livingston, Bostwick, and Auerbach (this issue) discuss differences in coping post-assault between sexual minority and heterosexual women. Solomon and colleagues (this issue) investigated how minority stress and gender identity relate to PTSD outcomes among sexual minority people who have experienced sexual victimisation. Morrison, Parker, Sadika, Sameen, and Morrison (this issue) have investigated societal outcomes, specifically how news media cover sexual victimisation of SGM people in contrast to cisgender heterosexual people, highlighting ways in which this may impact how others view and understand sexual violence differently across these populations.

Finally, Johnson, Corbett-Hone, Gutekunst, and Grove (this issue) have implemented a project that is geared towards addressing and potentially decreasing rape culture within SGM populations, thus identifying a potential avenue for decreasing victimisation. Taken together, these authors have addressed a wide range of potential risk factors, diverse experience in outcomes, and possibilities for addressing victimisation. We believe that this collective work serves as a strong repository of information regarding SGM sexual violence experiences, and hope it serves to move forward the collaboration between violence and SGM health researchers. We especially hope that the research in this special issue moves the field forward beyond an emphasis on just the stress part of the minority stress framework – and towards better understanding resilience, clinical outcomes and developing and implementing interventions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Dr. Anderson’s efforts were also supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 5K01AA026643–03. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agency

Notes on contributors

Corey E. Flanders

Corey E. Flanders, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College. Her research interests focus on issues of identity and health equity, particularly as they relate to the experiences of queer and trans people. She uses qualitative and quantitative approaches together with community-based research principles to understand how structural, interpersonal, and individual factors like stigma and social support impact people’s health and other lived experiences. 

RaeAnn E. Anderson

RaeAnn E. Anderson (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015) is currently an Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Dakota. She completed her postdoctoral training at Kent State University. Her research interests are understanding basic behavioral processes in sexual victimization and sexual perpetration in order to inform sexual assault risk reduction and prevention programs, respectively.