Violence against women and trans people is worse than previously thought, new research finds

A new national survey from Tulane University and UC San Diego, administered by NORC at the University of Chicago among 2,720 Americans, found nearly two-thirds of women report intimate partner violence and 68% report sexual violence in their lifetimes. Among transgender and gender-nonconforming respondents, the numbers climbed to 84% and 85% respectively.

Researcher Anita Raj said the study, the first national rollout of the Violence Experiences Survey after earlier state-level versions, captures forms of violence like coercive control that federal surveys typically miss. Only 9% of respondents admitted perpetrating violence themselves, a gap researchers attribute partly to imperfect self-reporting.

The findings land alongside federal funding cuts to prevention programs, a CDC reorganization that reduced the agency's violence-prevention capacity, and a Trump executive order defining only two genders that advocates say has had a chilling effect on services for trans survivors. Grants earmarked for LGBTQ+ survivors reportedly went unreleased last year, even as new Justice Department funding requirements pushed organizations to scrub resources from their sites, a policy since paused by courts.

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