Abstract
Transgender victimogenesis in India emerges as a multi-dimensional phenomenon rooted in structural disparities and contested understandings of gender identity. Transgender individuals in India constitute a markedly disadvantaged population exposed to compounding layers of oppression across social, institutional, and interpersonal domains. This narrative review systematically examines the factors underlying transgender victim-proneness and victimogenesis in India through analysis of peer-reviewed literature published between 2010 and 2024, sourced from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, and EBSCO. Search terms encompassed transgender identity, victimogenesis, victimization, victimology theories, social and cultural dimensions, causes, impacts, preventive strategies, and India-specific contexts. Inclusion criteria required studies to address transgender or gender minority victimization, be published in peer-reviewed English-language journals, and hold direct or theoretical relevance to the Indian setting; studies exclusively on cisgender populations, grey literature, and non-English sources were excluded. Retrieved literature underwent two-tiered screening encompassing title-abstract and full-text review, with data extracted thematically and synthesized narratively across identified domains. Evidence indicates that transgender individuals in India experience a complex, cumulative victimization trajectory spanning family rejection, educational exclusion, employment discrimination, police harassment, healthcare denial, and media stigmatization across different life phases. This review concludes that transgender victimization in India is not attributable to individual risk factors in isolation but is systematically produced through discriminatory practices embedded within structural institutions, impeding the realization of security, dignity, and fundamental human rights for this population. The paper advances victimology and gender studies scholarship by proposing a rights-based structural framework to guide evidence-informed policymaking aimed at eliminating transgender victimization in India.