A new analysis of 2022 U.S. Trans Survey (USTS) data from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that 5.4% of transgender and nonbinary adults reported experiencing one or more physical attacks in the year before the survey, and about half of them were attacked multiple times. By comparison, the National Crime Victimization Survey, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, reports that 1.5% of people aged 12 and older in the U.S. general population experienced violent victimization in 2022.
Transgender visibility was strongly linked to experiencing physical attacks: Respondents who said they were perceived as transgender always or most of the time had 72% higher odds of experiencing a physical attack than those who were never perceived as transgender.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents who experienced a physical attack in the past year (64.4%) reported that at least one of them was related to their transgender identity; about one-third (31.7%) believed they were attacked because of their sexual orientation.
Although the prevalence of physical attacks was high across gender identity groups, transgender women had the highest prevalence of attacks: 5.9% of transgender women, 5.2% of transgender men, 5.2% of nonbinary people assigned male at birth, and 5.0% of nonbinary people assigned female at birth reported a physical attack in the year before the survey.
Researchers used data from the 2022 USTS, the largest community-based sample of transgender people in the U.S., to examine patterns of victimization among transgender adults, focusing specifically on physical attacks.
“Research consistently shows that transgender people face significantly higher rates of violence than their cisgender peers,” said lead author Jordan Grasso, Research Data Analyst at the Williams Institute. “However, official statistics on violence against transgender people tend to underreport the prevalence of violence against transgender people. This is because many transgender people do not report victimization to the police, and when they do, administrative data often fails to accurately capture a person’s gender identity. This makes self-reported studies like USTS even more crucial.
”The likelihood of experiencing a physical attack was also associated with several other factors. Respondents with no income (8.9%) reported the highest prevalence of physical attacks, most notably compared with those with incomes between $50,000 and $99,999 (3.5%). Those living in urban communities (6.7%) were more likely to have experienced physical attacks in the last year than those in suburban (4.3%) or rural (5.6%) communities. In addition, nearly one in ten (9.0%) noncitizens reported experiencing one or more physical attacks, compared with 5.3% of U.S. citizens.
Regarding race/ethnicity, no significant differences were observed in reported physical attacks in the past year between Black (4.7%) and white (4.7%) transgender adults. However, Hispanic or Latine respondents had 35% higher odds, and those who identified as another race or as multiracial had 86% higher odds, of experiencing a physical attack than white respondents.
Anti-transgender violence seems to be similar across the U.S. Transgender respondents living in states where anti-transgender bills were introduced in 2021 and 2022, as well as in states with fewer LGBTQ protections and more restrictive policies, experienced similar levels of physical attack as those in states with better conditions.
“Recent removal of gender identity questions from federal surveys and data collections, in particular the very important National Crime Victimization Survey, will negatively impact research on violence and victimization against transgender people,” said study author Ilan Meyer, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute. “To address the current data gaps, community-based and state-level surveys should be expanded and strengthened to capture localized patterns, reflect the diversity of transgender people’s experiences, and better understand the contexts in which violence occurs. But it is essential for the United States to restore data collection on this important topic.”Access the report
The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law is an academic research institute dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.