A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Coercive Control In Transgender Intimate Partner Violence

Background and Purpose:
Transgender individuals experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at disproportionately high rates compared to cisgender populations. Existing IPV frameworks, including widely used power and control models, were largely developed within cisgender and heterosexual contexts and may not fully capture mechanisms of abuse specific to transgender survivors. Prior research has documented identity-based abuse, barriers to help-seeking, and structural vulnerabilities affecting transgender individuals in intimate relationships, yet these dynamics remain fragmented across multiple bodies of literature. The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework that synthesizes existing descriptions of transgender IPV (T-IPV) to identify domains of life where coercive control may operate in transgender relationships. The research question guiding this work is: how has existing literature described mechanisms of coercive control affecting transgender survivors of IPV, and how can these mechanisms be organized into a conceptual framework to inform research, practice, and prevention?

Methods:
This study used a narrative literature review and conceptual synthesis approach. Literature related to intimate partner violence, coercive control, transgender health, and barriers to help-seeking was reviewed to identify descriptions of abuse dynamics affecting transgender individuals. Sources included peer-reviewed studies, systematic reviews, and influential reports addressing IPV, identity-based abuse, structural vulnerability, and help-seeking barriers among transgender populations. Concepts describing mechanisms of coercive control were extracted and iteratively grouped into domains representing areas of life where abusive partners may exert power or control. This process emphasized patterns of abuse linked to gender identity, social and institutional contexts, and transition-related experiences.

Results:
The synthesis resulted in the development of the T-IPV Framework, which identifies six life domains through which coercive control may be exercised in transgender intimate relationships: (1) gender identity and expression, including identity invalidation, misgendering, and control of gender presentation; (2) medical transition, including interference with access to gender-affirming care; (3) visibility and disclosure, including threats of outing and manipulation of legal documentation; (4) sex and intimacy, including sexual coercion that exploits gender dysphoria or identity validation; (5) social networks, including isolation from chosen family and LGBTQ+ community supports; and (6) institutional access, including the weaponization of structural vulnerabilities such as housing, healthcare access, documentation, or immigration status. These domains highlight how identity-based and structural conditions may be leveraged within abusive relationships.

Conclusions and Implications:
The proposed framework expands existing IPV models by identifying domains of coercive control specific to transgender survivors. By organizing previously fragmented descriptions of T-IPV into a conceptual structure, the framework offers a tool for improving research, practitioner training, and violence prevention efforts. Incorporating trans-specific mechanisms of coercive control into IPV theory and practice may improve recognition of abuse, inform survivor-centered interventions, and guide future empirical research examining the dynamics of IPV in transgender communities.