Police Interactions and Comfort with Police Help-Seeking among Transgender Americans

• In Event: Attitudes and the Impact of Police Contact

Abstract

Transgender (trans) Americans face disproportionate risks for violent victimization, including intimate partner and sexual violence. In addition, this population often experiences discrimination when seeking help from institutions like housing, healthcare, and the criminal justice system. Still, research on trans individuals’ perceptions of police is rather limited; very few studies have examined these attitudes using quantitative data. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS) is one of the largest surveys of trans Americans to date and highlights their experiences of violence and discrimination across institutional contexts. The current study uses data from the 2011 NTDS (N = 6456) to explore the impact of positive and negative interactions with police on respondents’ comfort in seeking help from them. Results suggest that respondents who had negative experiences with the police—specifically harassment, physical assault, and sexual assault—are significantly less likely to feel comfortable seeking police help. Additionally, more visually gender nonconforming respondents appear significantly less likely to feel comfortable seeking assistance from law enforcement. Implications for scholarship on perceptions of police, help-seeking, and queer experiences with the criminal justice system are discussed.

Authors

• Madison Gerdes, Northeastern University

• Brandon M. Craig, Northeastern University

• Kevin Drakulich, Northeastern University