Compounded Violence: An Intersectional Exploration of Transgender Survivors’ Victimization Experiences

While research on transgender survivors’ unique experiences of intimate partner violence has increased, transgender survivors are still often treated as a monolith with limited research exploring the differences within these communities based on gender identity, sexuality, race, and (dis)ability status. The current study explores experiences of intimate partner violence and help-seeking in transgender and nonbinary communities, as well as barriers that survivors face when accessing these help-giving resources. Twenty in-depth interviews with transgender and nonbinary survivors were analyzed using an intersectional grounded theory. While survivors experienced transgender- and nonbinary-specific forms of abuse from their intimate partner, they often situated these abusive experiences in a broader context of victimization in which their gender identity was inseparable from other facets of their identity. These compounded traumas shaped their future help-seeking decisions, creating barriers to help-seeking rooted in a fear of facing more transphobic discrimination. Overall, this study highlights how transgender and nonbinary survivors face unique experiences rooted at the intersection of their gender identity and other facets of their identity, including race, sexuality, and ability status.