Victimization Against Latina with Sexual and Gender Minority Identities: A Scoping Review

Background and Purpose: Latina sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) usually face a heightened risk of experiencing victimization, including interpersonal violence and discrimination. While there is some research on victimization against Latina SGMs, a comprehensive synthesis of the evidence is lacking. This scoping review comprehensively synthesizes the extant literature about victimization in Latina SGMs in the US to fill this knowledge gap. This study seeks to answer the research question: what does the extant research show about the victimization of people who are Latina, identify as women, and are gender and/or sexual minorities?

Methods: The present study followed Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework for scoping reviews and adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. A comprehensive search of nine databases across several fields, such as LGBTP+ Source and PsycInfo, was performed. Articles were included if they (1) included keywords in abstract, title, or keywords; (2) included disaggregated Latina SGM samples in the US; (3) studied interpersonal violence and/or discrimination; (4) were quantitative or qualitative empirical articles; and (5) were written in English or Spanish. The initial search process identified 40,778 records, and a total of 17,273 duplicate records were identified and removed. We also conducted an additional manual search of grey literature to reduce publication bias.

Results: A total of 26 articles were included in this review. Three main themes emerged in this review: the prevalence of victimization among Latina SGMs, Latina SGMs’ victimization experiences in comparison with other groups, and the contributing factors and consequences of victimization among Latina SGMs. First, of the 26 articles reviewed, 10 of them reported the prevalence rate for at least one type of victimization, but only two articles used nationally representative samples. Studies also focused more on adulthood victimization than childhood victimization. Second, Although Latina SGMs’ risk of victimization was usually higher than that of heterosexual individuals, the evidence does not always indicate a higher risk of victimization compared to SGMs in other racial/ethnic groups. Third, a history of child sexual abuse and discrimination experiences were identified as risk factors for Latina SGMs’ victimization, and social support from cisgender individuals was identified as the only protective factor. Five articles consistently highlighted that victimization led to negative consequences among Latina SGM populations, including depression, binge drinking/illicit drug use, lifetime suicidal ideation, negative affect, and somatic complaints.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings of this scoping review suggest that future research should utilize longitudinal study designs with victimization in early childhood, and should collect information regarding Latina SGMs’ other social identities to establish a fuller understanding of this topic. With several identified risk factors of victimization and some mental health outcomes, potential protective factors, as well as other non-mental-health consequences of victimization, request further investigation. Given their vulnerabilities, research, policy, and practice should put more effort into developing culturally responsive programs for Latina SGMs with victimization experiences.