JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Jan 2;9(1):e2552953. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.52953.
ABSTRACT
IMPORTANCE: Interpersonal violence perpetrated against transgender and gender-diverse people is prevalent across many settings and may contribute to substantial health disparities.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of overall, physical, sexual, and psychological violence against transgender and gender-diverse adults globally.
DATA SOURCES: Studies were identified through PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Central, LILACS, PsycINFO, gray literature, and conference abstracts. Secondary searches of article references and relevant systematic reviews for articles published between January 1, 2010, and January 2, 2023, without language or geographical restrictions were performed.
STUDY SELECTION: Articles presenting quantitative data on interpersonal violence prevalence against transgender and gender-diverse adults using any study design and from any geographic region were included. Review articles, editorials, commentaries, studies that included minors and did not disaggregate data by age, studies that did not disaggregate data by gender identity, and studies with fewer than 10 participants were excluded. Full texts of potentially eligible articles were independently assessed for inclusion by 2 independent reviewers, with differences resolved through consensus.
DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: This study followed the PRISMA 2020 and MOOSE reporting guidelines. Prevalence data were extracted independently in duplicate and pooled using random-effects meta-analysis.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The lifetime and recent pooled prevalences of physical, sexual, and overall physical or sexual interpersonal violence against transgender and gender-diverse populations globally, as formulated prior to data collection, were estimated. Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 values and examination of 95% prediction intervals. For analyses composed of single studies, the unadjusted crude prevalence and 95% CI were presented.
RESULTS: A total of 94 studies published in 137 of the 29 987 identified articles (65 608 participants) were included in this review. Estimates from 98 articles were pooled in meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of physical or sexual violence was 64.23% (9 studies; 95% CI, 47.38%-78.17%) for lifetime and 59.81% (2 studies; 95% CI, 11.73%-94.34%) for recent. The pooled prevalence of lifetime physical violence was 35.89% (45 studies; 95% CI, 28.97%-43.46%), and that of sexual violence was 32.70% (40 studies; 95% CI, 25.20%-41.20%).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this systematic review and meta-analysis of interpersonal violence experienced globally by transgender and gender-diverse adults, a high prevalence was found, which should be addressed through evidence-based prevention and response strategies.
PMID:41563760 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.52953
