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Serving Transgender Victims of Sexual Assault
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Transgender 101Sexual Assault in the Transgender CommunityTips For Those Who Serve Victims
June 2014
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Perpetrator Issues

Gender of Perpetrator

When FORGE first analyzed its sexual violence study findings, it appeared there was a transgender-specific anomaly: 29 percent of respondents said at least one of their perpetrators was female.25 In researching this "anomaly," FORGE found that multiple studies have shown that about one-quarter of all sexual violence victims report a female assailant.26 These data are not well-known; in part because the public's image of sexual assault is usually that of a male perpetrator and a female victim, and in part because there is ample evidence that accusations against female perpetrators are routinely dismissed or rationalized.27

Several respondents in the FORGE survey noted that they did not bother reporting sexual assaults by female perpetrators because they did not expect anyone to believe them28:

I was afraid to go to the police for the last one [assault] because my attacker was a woman, and I had enough trouble trying to convince them it was a real attack when my attacker was male.

***

I was considered a male at [the] time, so no one would have believed I was raped by a female.

The popular conception of what constitutes a sexual assault can affect a victim's ability to understand and label the behavior as abuse or assault29:

I've had trouble naming what happened as abuse. Although I know that things happened against my will, I get angry at myself and blame myself for letting it happen—particularly because I was forced to do things to my partner rather than her forcing herself on me. I don't have a name for what that is, but it has deeply affected my relationship to my body and my sexuality.

***

I didn't recognize it as "sexual assault" because it didn't fit the portrayed image ("man" assaulting "woman").

What's That Mean?

Twelve percent of the FORGE survey respondents' perpetrators were transgender. This, too, can be ideologically difficult for some people to believe. This is particularly true if someone believes that transgender people are relatively powerless and that sexual violence is an act of a more powerful person against a less powerful person.30 According to one FORGE survey respondent, "I never expected it from a fellow FTM [female-to-male]."31

Regardless of the gender of the victim, automatically assuming the perpetrator is male has at least three potential consequences:

  1. It perpetuates the incorrect cultural myth that (almost) all perpetrators are male,
  2. It invalidates and revictimizes the victim, and
  3. It almost always effectively shuts down communication between professional and victim.
Implications and Actions for ...

Health Care Providers

You may need specific information about the sexual assault to provide accurate, quality care. If, for example, a patient has a vagina, uterus, and ovaries, you would need to determine the possibility of pregnancy. Asking if there was penetration is a good place to begin, but it is critical not to presume that penetration was by a penis or that the patient's vagina was penetrated. Allowing him to tell what happened, through gentle, nongender-specific prompts, will generally result in the patient revealing essential information.

Knowing the gender of the perpetrator allows you to recommend specific tests, prescribe certain prophylactic care, or pursue specific diagnostic tests or treatments. For example, if an MTF (male-to-female) patient has had vaginoplasty (the creation of a vagina) and has been vaginally penetrated by a penis, she may be at increased risk for HIV or other sexually transmitted infections because the tissue of surgically constructed vaginas is generally more fragile and vulnerable than a non-transgender woman's vagina.

Emergency Medical Personnel

There are perpetrators of all genders. When inquiring about the details of the assault, keep in mind the cultural misconceptions that perpetrators are always male and victims are always female. Use genderless language and don’t ask leading questions. For example, "is there anything else you remember about the perpetrator?" or "did you notice any scars, tattoos, or unique clothing?" Keep your questions open ended to allow the patient to reveal information without needing to correct your assumption about the perpetrator.

Law Enforcement

When inquiring about the details of the assault, keep in mind the cultural misconceptions that perpetrators are always male and victims are always female. Use genderless language and don't ask leading questions. For example, "is there anything else you remember about the perpetrator?" or "did you notice any scars, tattoos, or unique clothing?" Keep your questions open ended to allow the victim to reveal information without needing to correct your assumptions about the perpetrator.

Advocates

There are perpetrators of all genders. Believe the victim's account of what happened and help them to understand that they are not the only one to experience that type of assault or that type of perpetrator. If necessary, help the victim acquire a more up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of what constitutes sexual assault.

When inquiring about the details of the assault, keep in mind the cultural misconceptions that perpetrators are always male and victims are always female. Use genderless language and don't ask leading questions. For example, "is there anything else you remember about the perpetrator?" or "did you notice any scars, tattoos, or unique clothing?" Keep your questions open ended to allow the victim to reveal information without needing to correct your assumptions about the perpetrator.

Encourage the agencies with which you work to get training regarding female perpetrators and discuss the service implications for a victim assaulted by a woman. For example, support groups may be focused on male perpetrators and may isolate or not allow in victims with female perpetrators, and law enforcement may not believe victims who state they have a female perpetrator. Revise any materials the agencies have that imply that only men can perpetrate sexual assaults.

Therapists

Many therapists who specialize in sexual assault and trauma recovery have a strong background in an oppression model that envisions sexual assault as male violence against women. Although this outdated model does a great disservice to all victims, it can be especially painful for transgender victims, particularly for those who do not identify as either male or female and may have had a perpetrator who was not male.

The pervasive cultural belief that men are violent or dangerous also contributes to exaggerated fears some transgender people have about their safety on the streets, in public facilities, and in health care settings. For example, some MTFs (male-to-females) (whether they have a history of being assaulted or not) fear being assaulted or harassed in public. These fears stem directly from a systemic “all-men-are-violent” culture. (Similar fears abound for FTMs (female-to-males), such as fears about being assaulted in men's bathrooms.) You can best serve your clients by not reinforcing these cultural stereotypes, which increase fear and insecurity and lead to deepened isolation and depression.

There are perpetrators of all genders. Believe the client's account of what happened and help them to understand that they are not the only one to experience that type of assault or that type of perpetrator. If necessary, help the client acquire a more up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of what constitutes sexual assault.

Support Group Facilitators

Many support group facilitators who specialize in sexual assault and trauma recovery have a strong background in an oppression model that envisions sexual assault as male violence against women. Although this outdated model does a great disservice to all survivors, it can be especially painful for transgender clients, particularly for those who do not identify as either male or female and may have had a perpetrator who was not male.

The pervasive cultural belief that men are violent or dangerous also contributes to the exaggerated fears some transgender people have about their safety on the streets, in public facilities, and in health care settings. For example, male-to-female (MTF) individuals (whether they have a history of being assaulted or not) may fear being assaulted or harassed in public. These fears stem directly from a systemic all-men-are-violent culture. (Similar fears abound for female-to-male (FTM) individuals, such as fears about being assaulted in men's bathrooms.) You can best serve your clients by not reinforcing these cultural stereotypes, which increase fear and insecurity and lead to deepened isolation and depression.

There are perpetrators of all genders. Believe the client's account of what happened and help them understand that they are not the only one to experience that type of assault or that type of perpetrator. If necessary, give the client a more up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of what constitutes sexual assault.

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Often, support groups for survivors of sexual assault are segregated by gender, and most are for female survivors only. The underlying presumption is that female-only space is necessary for clients to feel safe because of the assumption that all perpetrators are male. If your support group is segregated by gender, it is still important to keep in mind that perpetrators may be male, female, or transgender.