order to maximize my sample, I utilized two different data collection methods to maximize participation from this small and marginalized population. The primary data collection technique involved in-depth interviews; twelve interviews were conducted by phone and one via instant messenger, for a total of thirteen. None of the respondents were local enough for us to meet in person, but in-depth interviews on the phone and instant messenger served as an ideal method of data collection in that they provided me the opportunity to gather extensive detail and ask follow-up questions. On average, the interviews lasted over an hour but generally were under two hours. In-depth phone interviews offered a more comprehensive understanding of experiences with intimate partner violence in a way that survey response items could not accomplish.
While respondents were asked to participate in phone interviews, they were also provided the option to free-write their accounts and answer the interview questions via an online questionnaire format. The online, open-ended interview questionnaire allowed potential participants to describe their experiences with intimate partner violence victimization without having to speak personally with me as an interviewer. Five participants opted to free-write their accounts via the online interview guide. While this format required me to sacrifice the more responsive and in-depth discussions made possible via telephone or instant message, it was important to have this option given the extremely intimate nature of the interview topic and respondents’ resulting discomfort in discussing it with researchers. Appendix A elucidates the recruitment and sampling strategies, methodology, and question design in more detail.
The Survivors
A total of eighteen trans-identified respondents who had experienced intimate partner violence participated in this study. As mentioned above, twelve of the participants were interviewed via telephone and one via online chat, and five submitted free-write responses via an online survey link. Although I offered participants whose first language was Spanish the choice to tell their stories in either English or Spanish, all opted for English. Table A.1 in Appendix A provides relevant details of the respondents who chose to use pseudonyms by providing gender identity, race and/or ethnicity, and age; participants described their social backgrounds in their own words.
While a majority of the sample identified as white, there was considerable racial diversity, including three black- and five Latinx-identified participants. The group was also diverse in terms of gender identities, with five identifying as transwomen and three as female-to-male (FTM) transgender, and then a variety of other identifications including transmasculine and transfeminine, genderqueer, transsexual, and transgender stone butch.64 The average participant was thirty years old. Many survivors were at the early stages of their transition or coming-out process or just a few years into their transition. This may be due in part to the relatively young age of the participants. In Appendix A, I provide more specifics on the analytic and coding strategy used for the stories.
Overview of the Book
The chapters follow the stories of eighteen transgender survivors of intimate partner violence. The second chapter builds upon the first through an emphasis on the contexts of violence as experienced by individuals within transgender communities. The social and cultural contexts of hostility toward transgender individuals provide the backdrop from which the stories are experienced and interpreted. The chapter weaves in introductions to survivor backgrounds and their intimate relationships. The subsequent chapters detail the patterns of abuse experienced by survivors from the beginning to the end of the relationship. Chapter 3 delves into the salient themes of the types of abuses experienced by the survivors. As survivors began to tell their stories, they identified a series of patterned events that were characterized by a combination of physical violence along with emotional and psychological abuses: across their stories, these attacks involved specific aspects of transgender identity, which are then discussed. Chapter 4 explores the process of constructing meaning within the context of abuse and how it affects the process of identity work. The chapter breaks down elements of how abusers controlled victims’ gender transition; as the accounts continued, survivors attributed meaning to the events as they tried to explain the motivations of their perpetrator and what the abuse still means to them today. Chapter 5 examines the process in which survivors came to identify their experiences as abuse and the unique challenges transgender victims face when attempting to leave abusive relationships. Finally, chapter 6 offers a comprehensive overview of how these narratives can shape research, policy, and action to improve existing knowledge and services for transgender survivors and move scholarship on intimate partner violence beyond the gender binary. Appendix B offers a reflexive statement that details my personal experiences with collecting and analyzing these data.
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