Safe and secure housing plays a vital role in women’s recovery from violence or abuse. Yet there is still a lack of specialist housing and support for women who want to escape prostitution or trafficking.
Tackling this in the UK capital is possible, but requires a truly pan-London approach. We now have a framework, in the form of the mayor of London’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, published on 9 March, but there is a lot still to do to support women fleeing sexual exploitation.
It is a sad truth that crimes are committed against women and girls every day in the capital. According to the strategy, one in five women in London who have experienced extensive sexual abuse have also experienced homelessness; of those working in prostitution, more than half have suffered assaults. Many of these women are in desperate need of the safety and comfort provided by stable and secure housing.
Many women exiting prostitution or trafficking also have post-traumatic stress disorder, and multiple and complex needs. Recovery is rarely a quick or linear process and support is often required well beyond the initial service provided by emergency accommodation. It usually needs many different organisations working together to provide specialised, tailored support.
Since 2016, Commonweal Housing has been engaged in the Amari project, working in partnership with Solace Women’s Aid to provide flats to women who have been sexually exploited through trafficking or prostitution, and to provide specialist support for up to 18 months.
Despite clearly demonstrating the role housing can play in recovery, there are very few such projects. In too many cases, women are denied access to this kind of transitional housing, depending instead on increasingly scarce permanent accommodation. Our research has shown that across London access to similar recovery projects is sporadic at best. Some boroughs have expressed an interest in developing stronger support for women fleeing exploitation, but others have removed funding for such services. Critically, an overwhelming number of areas remain unaware of the benefits of staged transitional housing.
Sadiq Khan’s strategy recognises that the current approach is too disjointed, and demonstrates an understanding of the environment needed to enable women to leave prostitution. It makes a number of commitments to promote a wider, cross-London approach and is a vital step forward.
But too many initiatives providing vital safe accommodation to women fleeing violence, such as the Pan-London Housing Reciprocal, remain voluntary, and with funding cuts continuing to hit vital services, there is a risk that even existing support may be reduced. Denying vulnerable women the support they need to access employment, training or education is critical.
Using his influence across London, the mayor must now build on the commitments outlined in his strategy to encourage local authorities, housing providers and voluntary organisations to develop multi-agency transitional housing services that are focused on these women.
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