On July 30, 2019, 22-year-old Tracy Williams was found stabbed to death in Houston, Texas. Shortly after, her boyfriend was charged in connection with her murder (Tripathi, 2020). According to her friends, Tracy was an artistic woman who was experiencing homelessness at the time of her death. Tracy's tragic story is just one of countless examples of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence perpetrated against members of the transgender community. In this chapter, we provide a non-exhaustive overview of the barriers transgender individuals face when seeking help for IPV and sexual violence. We also address the importance of including transgender women in initiatives to protect and support survivors.

Sexual violence is defined as ‘sexual abuse occurring at any time in the life span, including instances of sexual harassment’ (Gentlewarrior, 2009, p. 1). While violence does substantial short-and long-term damage to survivors’ physical and mental well-being (WHO, n.d., para. 1), trans survivors of physical and/or sexual victimization are significantly more likely to report attempting suicide, sometimes multiple times (Testa et al., 2012). Relatedly, IPV can be defined as ‘physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse’ and is a worldwide public health issue (CDC, 2018, para. 1). Survivors may experience physical injury, physical health issues, and mental health issues such as depression as a result of victimization (CDC, 2019). Survivors of IPV also pay a high economic price for their victimization: due to abuse, survivors often work less, and they may spend money in order to receive mental and physical healthcare (Peterson et al., 2018). Importantly, for people experiencing IPV and/or sexual abuse, the decision to leave the situation can be dangerous and difficult. Intimate partner homicide victims are most likely to be killed as they attempt to flee (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, n.d.), and many IPV survivors return to their abusers several times before severing ties completely (National Domestic Violence Hotline, 2013).

For the purposes of this chapter, we define transgender (trans) individuals as ‘people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth’ (HRC, n.d., para. 5). We also include nonbinary individuals under the ‘transgender umbrella’ (see Davidson, 2007).