Violence in transsexual, transgender and intersex couples: a systematic review

Abstract

Intimate partner violence affects transsexual, transgender and intersex individuals and has been approached by national and international research. This theoretical study has carried out a systematic review of research conducted with these groups. An exhaustive review of the main databases was performed to identify all the studies that focus on this subject. Overall, 28 studies were obtained on violence in transsexual, transgender and intersex couples. In each study, we analyzed the type of sample, method and instrument that were used, as well as the main results. The results highlight that the quantitative approach is the most common one, focusing especially on the transsexual community. Concerning prevalence, we observed a great variability, ranging from 18 to 80%, constituting a public health problem. Trans women are the ones who most suffer this type of violence, and the "gender-normative" member of the couple is most frequently the aggressor. Heterosexism and transphobia were identified as risk factors. Finally, the importance of including intimate partner violence in relationships in which at least one of the members is transsexual, transgender or intersex in gender violence prevention programs is highlighted.