Navigating Adversities: A Systematic Literature Review of Challenges Faced by Transgender Individuals

Our civilization is profoundly influenced by gender and sex differences. In every aspect of our culture, people are classified as only ‘male and female’. However, gender is not only limited to males and females. Gender diversity exists in our society in the form of the LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual) community. The Transgender community is the gender variant community that is neglected and criticized just because they are not adequate in the boxes of males and females. Transgender people have been stigmatized and marginalized to a great extent. Despite their long existence throughout the world, they face infinite issues and challenges in every domain of life. Hence, this systematic literature review is an attempt to analyze and review different studies related to the transgender community, their historical evolution, and the studies related to psychosocial, educational, legal, and health issues and challenges that were also discussed and analyzed. Here, a structured approach PRISMA is adopted to search, identify, screen, scan, read, and analyze the different published articles and papers. In total, 60 studies were taken primarily, abstracts of 50 studies were screened, and 40 articles were selected for the screening and eligibility of full text for inclusion. From these, 8 articles were excluded as they did not fulfill the criteria for inclusion in the paper. The final number of articles selected for the SLR paper is 32. Further, the paper discusses the strengths and gaps of the review papers, and suggestions are also mentioned for the better inclusion of transgender people in mainstream society. Inadequate research on transgender issues, especially in developing and underdeveloped nations, and inadequate consideration of the intersectional barriers experienced by transgender people are two of the main gaps found. Significant findings show that the transgender population faces extensive stigmatization, and obstacles in schooling, and barely gets access to legal and medical assistance. To incorporate transgender people into mainstream society, the study highlights the necessity of inclusive legislation and societal reforms.