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Q. What is the prevalence of domestic violence among women who are homeless? |
A. The figures vary widely, but there is a consensus that most women who experience homelessness have been victims of domestic violence. It is difficult to assess how many homeless men have experienced domestic violence either as children or adults because most shelters do not collect this data and few studies in this area have been conducted. Some recent numbers:
- A study of homeless and low-income women in Worcester, Massachusetts, found that 63% of these women had experienced some form of severe physical violence by their current or most recent partner. 92% of the women surveyed had experienced severe physical violence or sexual assault at some point in their lives. (Ellen Bassuk, M.D., National Center on Family Homelessness, Written Submission to the U.N. Regional Consultation on Women and the Right to Adequate Housing in North America 2 (October 15, 2005) (on file with NLCHP) (citing E.L. Bassuk et al., The Characteristics and Needs of Sheltered Homeless and Low-Income Housed Mothers, 276 J. AM. MED.ASS'N 640-46 (1996)).
- Approximately 50% of the women in Washington, DC's mainstream homeless shelter have experienced domestic violence. (Coalition of Housing and Homeless Organizations, Homelessness in Washington, D.C. 3 (2004) (citing Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, FY 2002 Continuum of Care Inventory: Public and Private Homeless Services in the District (2002)).
- Almost 50% of the women in San Diego, California, reported being victims of domestic violence. (San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness, Domestic Violence and Homelessness).
- A Chicago study found that 56% of women in shelters revealed they had experienced domestic violence and 36% stated that had experienced physical violence or sexual abuse in their homes as a child. (Rebekah Levin et al., Center for Impact Research, Pathways to and from Homelessness: Women and Children in Chicago Shelters 2 (2004).)
- An October 2007 survey by the City of Los Angeles found that 20% of homeless women surveyed stated that they had experienced domestic violence, and 50% of those women stated that domestic violence was a significant contributor to their homelessness.
(Results of the 2007 Homeless Count, Los Angeles County Homeless Services Authority.)
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Q. Is domestic violence a significant factor in becoming homeless? |
A. Yes. It is difficult to assess the numbers of victims who become homeless due to domestic violence as many of these victims enter the homeless shelter system and do not go to domestic violence shelters. Many victims in the homeless shelter system fail to identify themselves as victims of domestic violence. However, it is clear that domestic violence is a significant contributing factor for homelessness. In 2005, twelve of twenty-four participating cities cited domestic violence as a primary cause of homeless in their cities according to the US Conference of Mayor's 2005 Hunger and Homelessness Survey.
Studies looking at the link between domestic violence and homelessness in women have found that between 20 and 25% of women are homeless because of domestic violence.
- A National Institutes of Justice Study found that one of every four homeless women is homeless because of domestic violence against her. (Jana L. Jasinski et al., The Experience of Violence in the Lives of Homeless Women: A Research Report 2, 65 (2005) Univ. Cent. Fla., submitted to National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice).
- An October 2007 survey by the City of Los Angeles found that 20% of homeless women surveyed stated that they had experienced domestic violence, and 50% of those women stated that domestic violence was a significant contributor to their homelessness. (http://www.lahsa.org/2007homelesscountreport.asp, Los Angeles County Homeless Services Authority).
- In Chicago shelters, 22% of homeless women reported being homeless because of domestic violence. (Rebekah Levin et al., Center for Impact Research, Pathways to and from Homelessness: Women and Children in Chicago Shelters 2 (2004).There are some studies that look at a broader population, and these too indicate that domestic violence is closely linked to homelessness.
- In Massachusetts, 57% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims of domestic violence reported becoming homeless because of the violence.
- In New York City, almost half of homeless parents had experienced domestic violence and 25% of the parents were homeless because of the abuse. (Institute for Children and Poverty, The Hidden Migration: Why New York City Shelters Are Overflowing with Families (2002).
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Q. What is the proportion of homeless people who are adult women? How many women are homeless with children? |
| A. It is difficult to fully assess this question on a national scale. Many national indicators do not disaggregate housing trends by sex or gender.
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Q. Are domestic violence survivors being discriminated against in housing? |
A. Although federal laws protect survivors in public and section 8 housing, we know that discrimination continues both in public and private housing.
- A 2005 survey in New York City found that 27.5% of housing providers with a vacancy refused to rent or failed to follow-up as promised after they learned the potential tenant was a survivor of domestic violence. (Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York, Center Study Finds Significant Incidence of Discrimination Against Survivors of Domestic Violence 2 (2005).
- A 2005 survey of 76 legal and social service provers found that 28% of all housing denials handled by these advocates, and 11% of all evictions, resulted from domestic violence. (National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty & National Network to End Domestic Violence, Lost Housing, Lost Safety: Survivors of Domestic Violence Experience Housing Denials and Evictions across the Country (2006).
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