Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Publication Title

Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Keywords

HIV, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, LGBTQ+, transgender, queer criminology

Abstract

Study Questions: Previous research has shown that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization are correlated. Furthermore, it has been consistently reported that transgender individuals are at an increased risk of experiencing IPV victimization and testing positive for HIV compared to cisgender individuals. However, past research examining the potential explanations for the correlation between HIV status and IPV victimization in transgender individuals using a large and inclusive sample is nonexistent. Subjects: A total of 12,592 transgender and nonbinary individuals from across the United States were included in the analyses. Methods: Through a bivariate probit analysis of data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, this study examines potential explanations for the association between HIV and IPV victimization in a sample of transgender individuals. Findings: The results support previous research, which indicates that a transgender individual’s HIV status is significantly correlated with their likelihood to experience IPV victimization. Additionally, a participant’s involvement in sex work and other risk-taking behaviors, such as binge drinking, was found to, in part, explain this co-occurring relationship. Other variables, such as coercive control and prescription drug misuse, were found to correlate significantly with IPV victimization but not HIV status. The relationships between participants’ demographic variables, such as their race, sexuality, sex assigned at birth, IPV victimization, and HIV status, were examined and discussed as well. Implications: We conclude that it is imperative for LGBTQ + organizations to provide services aimed at protecting transgender individuals suffering from IPV victimization who have also tested positive for HIV through increased accessibility of care and a deeper understanding of the potential relationships in which a person may be involved. This type of outreach would likely be an important first step in allowing transgender individuals to feel safer in their romantic relationships while simultaneously encouraging safe sex practices and a healthy lifestyle, which would increase overall quality of life.

Funding Source

This article was published Open Access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and Sage Journals.

DOI

10.1177/08862605241230551

Comments

First published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence (2024). https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241230551.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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