Latina Transgender Women's Interactions with Law Enforcement in Los Angeles County

To date, very few researchers have explored transgender women’s interactions with law enforcement agencies and officers. Addressing this research gap, this study examines the interactions of Latina transgender women with law enforcement. The investigators conducted semi-structured interviews of 220 low-income Latina transgender women recruited from a variety of community-based organizations and sources across Los Angeles County, California. The findings lend support to the conclusion that transgender women, and especially transgender women of colour, are common victims of verbal harassment, physical assault, and sexual assault perpetrated by law enforcement officers. The findings also lend support to the propositions that many transgender women perceive their personal interactions with law enforcement officers negatively, and view reports of crime against them as mishandled or ignored. The findings are discussed in light of the implications for law enforcement’s interactions with transgender women and transgender communities of colour in particular.