2015 U.S. Transgender Survey: Report on the Experiences of Asian, Native Hawaiian,and Pacific Islander Respondents

Abstract

The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) is the largest survey examining the experiences of transgender people in the United States, with 27,715 respondents nationwide. The USTS was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality in the summer of 2015. The results provide a detailed look at the experiences of transgender people across a wide range of categories, such as education, employment, family life, health, housing, and interactions with the criminal justice system. The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey documented the experiences of USTS respondents, including differences based on demographic and other characteristics.1 Among the most important findings was that many respondents were impacted by the compounding effects of multiple forms of discrimination, and transgender people of color who completed the survey experienced deeper and broader forms of discrimination than white USTS respondents and people in the U.S. population overall. This report focuses on the unique experiences of the 783 USTS respondents who identified as Asian (including Asian American, South Asian, and Southeast Asian) or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander,2 highlighting disparities between their experiences and those of other USTS respondents and the U.S. population. Findings throughout this report generally represent the experiences of Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander respondents reported as a combined category.3Additionally, some findings are presented separately for Asian respondents and for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander respondents to highlight notable differences.Throughout this report, respondents are referred to as “Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander” (or “ANHPI”).4 When findings are presented separately, respondents are referred to as “Asian” and “Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander” (or “NHPI”). While the findings in this report reflect a range of Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander transgender people in the United States, the survey likely did not fully capture the experiences of those who were most affected by factors that may limit access to online surveys, such as factors related to education, economic and housing stability, and disabilities. All findings in this report are presented as weighted percentages. (Author Text)