NCJ Number
254555
Date Published
August 2019
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This report presents the purpose and methodology of the early stage of a Researcher-Practitioner Fellowship project funded by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) for the development of a survey tool for transgender and non-binary individuals to explore "how experiences with trauma and (trans) identity impact resilience, community, and world-making."
Abstract
The intent of this effort is to move beyond existing measures from previous sexual violence research studies by taking a strength-based approach. The early-stage partnership was initiated by FORGE, the only transgender-focused organization federally funded to provide training and technical assistance to providers who work with transgender survivors of sexual assault. FORGE consulted with sexual violence researcher Dr. Healther McCauley regarding collaborating in the execution of the project. The first step was to create shared ground rules for the collaborative work, solidify the focus of the survey instrument, and clarify who is to benefit from the survey tool. There was unanimous agreement to focus on survivors and reflected on the need to use a strengths-based lens in the work. Using a consensus-building process, the team identified the important constructs to include in the survey. This required item-development by Dr. McCauley. The next step consisted of completing cognitive interviews with six transgender or non-binary individuals in honing the survey items, which are described in this report. Data that will be generated by this survey will provide critical information for researchers and practitioners in understanding, from a strengths-based perspective, how transgender and non-binary survivors may thrive after sexual violence.