4 in 10 trans people experience abuse before 18, new survey finds

Around 4 in 10 transgender people in India experience sexual abuse before they reach the age of 18.

A new survey by the Swati Health Resource Centre questioned 2,129 transgender people and found shocking results across the three states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka..

According to India Live Today, respondents claimed that they experienced sexual violence as young as five, but people aged between 11 and 15 were most vulnerable.

44% of the respondents reported 2,811 separate occasions of violence, bringing the average to three incidents per person.

Emotional violence was also common followed by physical abuse and sexual violence.

The survey also found that 30% of the respondents had not received an education and that they were living alone after being rejected from their families.

Trans activist Sharmila said that young people lacked the courage to speak up and report the abuse.

The 44-year-old activist was one of the respondents who experience emotional abuse when, at the age of 7, her family rejected her after catching her trying on make-up and clothes.

Sharmila was sent to a psychiatric facility to be ‘treated’ and she now urges young people to speak up.

In This Article: