The true scale of female homelessness is likely to be significantly worse than official records show, as women hide to avoid being attacked, a harrowing new report reveals.
Women who sleep on the street are subject to “horrendous” treatment, including sexual abuse, violence and stigmatisation – and often feel unsafe when accessing predominantly male homelessness services, according to research by St Mungo’s.
The report warns that this drives many to hide themselves in concealed locations, such as Wendy houses, empty garages and public toilets – which in turn leads to them being omitted from administrative datasets.
Figures show female street homelessness is rising more quickly than the overall rough sleeping population, with the proportion rising from 12 per cent to 14 per cent in the year to 2017.
Welfare reforms, cuts to local authority funding and a lack of social housing, as well as a shortage of refuges to protect women fleeing domestic abuse, have been blamed for the rise.
Homelessness services can lack appropriate physically safe facilities and support for women, as they are often designed on the assumption that their target population is overwhelmingly male.
The report found that homeless women were often subjected to “horrific” violations, including being spat, urinated and vomited on, as well as being robbed and continually harassed for sex by male members of the public – all of which lead many to conceal themselves when sleeping rough.
One woman surveyed for the report told researchers: “We have to hide because if we don’t we’re gonna get raped, kicked, beat.” Another said she had hid in “Wendy houses in back gardens, sheds, empty garages, empty houses that were gonna be demolished… public toilets… wherever”.
Researchers also found barriers to domestic violence services, with women reporting they were expected to “prove” their experience of abuse by having repeated contact with the police before receiving support from the criminal justice system or local authorities.
Recent research by Women’s Aid showed that more than one in 10 women supported by the charity in the 12 months to January 2018 had been forced to sleep rough after fleeing domestic abuse, while almost half had to sofa surf – many of whom had their children with them.
Politicians and campaigners have urged central government to bring in better data collection methods and provide more women-only homelessness services, as well as better address the link between domestic abuse and rough sleeping.
Rebecca Sycamore, St Mungo’s executive director of development, said the report shone a light on the “frightening” levels of sexual harassment, abuse and violence being faced by women on the streets.
“It’s clear that we don’t have a true picture of the real extent of rough sleeping, and this leaves women at particular risk of harm,” she said.
“We want to see a dedicated effort made to find out more about women and rough sleeping, involving those with lived experience, and linking in with related work such as the government’s Violence against Women and Girls strategy.”
Melanie Onn MP, Labour’s shadow housing minister, said: “This damning report highlights just how badly the government is failing to address the specific problems that homeless women face.
“The risk of sexual assault and violence means that many homeless women avoid our streets and doorways for their own safety, and the cuts in funding for hostels and genuinely affordable homes since 2010 means that places of safety for women are far harder to come by.
“The government must now invest in new low-cost homes and properly fund support for homeless women to prevent them sleeping rough.”
Katie Ghose, chief executive of Women’s Aid, said: “No one chooses to leave their home; it is a decision made in circumstances of fear, when all other options have been exhausted.
“Yet domestic abuse survivors and children who are literally fleeing for their lives are being faced with the awful reality of sofa surfing or even sleeping rough.
“When faced with a future of insecure housing and homelessness after fleeing domestic abuse, we know that some survivors have no choice but to return to their abusive partner.”
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
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1/5026 October 2018
A man has been arrested for the attempted theft of a copy of Magna Carta from Salisbury Cathedral, one of the four remaining originals of the historic document of English liberty
Reuters
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2/5025 October 2018
Retail business man Sir Philip Green has been named in Parliament for sexual harassment of staff
Getty
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3/5024 October 2018
The Daily Telegraph today reports that they were subject to a gagging order to prohibit them publishing the details of a leading businessman who is facing allegations of sexual assault and racial abuse
PA
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4/5023 October 2018
Thousands of female workers have today taken to the streets of Glasgow over an equal pay dispute with the City Council
PA
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5/5022 October 2018
Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe who has called for an “urgent review” of the evidence around legislation of cannabis. Hogan-Howe, who has always supported tough laws on cannabis, investigated the issue for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme.
PA
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6/5021 October 2018
The Red Funnel car ferry, Red Falcon, which earlier collided with several small boats due to bad weather, passes the mast of a submerged yacht as she leaves East Cowes on the Isle of Wight bound for Southampton
PA
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7/5020 October 2018
Anti-Brexit campaigners lowering a banner off Westminster Bridge in London before taking part in the People’s Vote March for the Future in London, a march and rally in support of a second EU referendum
PA
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8/5019 October 2018
Members of a grooming gang who abused vulnerable girls in Huddersfield have been jailed for a total of more than 220 years. Three trials at Leeds Crown Court this year heard how at least 15 victims were groomed and raped in the West Yorkshire town between 2004 and 2011. They were aged between 11 and 17 when they were “deliberately targeted” by older men and trafficked across the region
West Yorkshire Police
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9/5018 October 2018
Theresa May leaves after a news conference at the European Union leaders summit in Brussels
Reuters
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10/5017 October 2018
Police officers with a bomb disposal robot on Victoria Embankment opposite Scotland Yard police headquarters in central London after emergency services were alerted to reports of a suspicious package
AFP/Getty
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11/5016 October 2018
Scottish Power will become the first major UK energy company to generate the entirety of its power from wind after selling its remaining gas and hydro stations to Drax in a £702 million deal
Getty
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12/5015 October 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May peers into a hot water urn during a meeting at a social group in Vauxhall from a charity working to combat loneliness at the launch of the first loneliness strategy. Launching the strategy, May confirmed English GPs will be able to refer lonely people to community and voluntary activities by 2023, as she paid tribute to murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, who had campaigned to end loneliness before her death
PA
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13/5014 October 2018
Jeremy Hunt hosting eastern European Foreign Ministers at the Foreign Secretary’s official country residence ahead of tomorrow’s meetings at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg where chemical weapons sanctions will be formally adopted
PA
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14/5013 October 2018
Police stop a breakaway from the main Football Lads alliance march, as they attempt to get close to a rival anti-facist demonstration in London
AP
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15/5012 October 2018
Waves hit Cawsand, Cornwall as Storm Callum arrives to the UK
PA
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16/5011 October 2018
Former Prime Minister John Major has spoken out against the launch of Universal Credit (the Government’s new benefit model). Claiming that it will hurt families of “already meagre living standards”, he suggested that the policy could be similarly damaging to Theresa May as Poll Tax was to Margaret Thatcher
PA
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17/5010 October 2018
The Supreme Court has ruled that two Belfast bakers were within the law to refuse to cook a cake that endorsed gay marriage. The case, beginning in 2014 and progressing to the highest court in the land, has been controversial and has raised discussion about the balance of rights and equality
Reuters
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18/509 October 2018
Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon acknowledges the applause as she delivers her keynote speech to delegates on the final day of the SNP annual conference in Glasgow
AFP/Getty
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19/508 October 2018
Anna Richardson and Alastair Campbell pose with their portraits at Let’s Talk, a photography exhibition created in partnership with Mental Health UK at Regent’s Place in London. It is designed to inspire open and honest conversations about mental health by depicting each subjects inner battles on their faces
Paul Davey/SWNS
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20/507 October 2018
The Royal De Luxe theatre company’s ‘Giants’ street puppets during a street theatre performances in Liverpool
PA
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21/506 October 2018
Banksy’s artwork, Girl With Balloon which shredded itself after being sold for more than £1 million at auction. The auction house was forced to admit it got Banksy-ed after the canvas suddenly passed through a shredder installed in the frame
PA
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22/505 October 2018
A new artwork depicting Prime Minister Theresa May by street artist The Pink Bear Rebel has recently appeared in the West End of Glasgow
PA
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23/504 October 2018
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on a climbing wall during a visit to The Climbing Lab in Leeds, which was damaged during the Boxing Day floods in 2015 as he supported the city’s bid for more funding for flood defences to prevent any future disasters
PA
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24/503 October 2018
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May dances a few steps as she takes to the stage to give her keynote address on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham
AFP/Getty
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25/502 October 2018
Boris Johnson warned that Theresa May’s “cheat” Brexit plans would leave the UK in “manacles” and lead to the dominance of the far right and far left in British politics during his speech at a fringe event at the Conservative Party annual conference in Birmingham
PA
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26/501 October 2018
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson speaking at the Conservative Party annual conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham
PA
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27/5030 September 2018
Protestors set off on an anti-Brexit march, organised by the ‘Best For Britain’ campaign group, in central Birmingham
AFP/Getty
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28/5029 September 2018
Royal Navy Commander, Nathan Gray lands his F-35B onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time. Two F-35B Lightning II fighter jets have successfully landed onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time, laying the foundations for the next 50 years of fixed wing aviation in support of the UK’s Carrier Strike Capability. Royal Navy Commander, Nathan Gray, 41, made history by being the first to land on, carefully manoeuvring his stealth jet onto the thermal coated deck. He was followed by Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, RAF, both of whom are test pilots, operating with the Integrated Test Force (ITF) based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Shortly afterwards, once a deck inspection has been conducted and the all-clear given, Cdr Gray became the first pilot to take off using the ship’s ski-ramp.
Crown copyright/PO Arron Hoare
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29/5028 September 2018
Headteachers from across England and Wales hold signs in Parliament Square, London, as they prepare to march on Downing Street to demand extra money for schools
PA
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30/5027 September 2018
Former leader of the English Defence League Tommy Robinson (C) arrives at the Old Bailey Courthouse in London, Britain, 27 September 2018. The far right figurehead whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon faces a rehearing after winning an appeal against a contempt of court finding last month.
EPA
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31/5026 September 2018
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn delivers a keynote speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool
EPA
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32/5025 September 2018
Derby County manager leads the celebrations with players in front of their fans after winning a penalty shootout against Manchester United in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Lampard faced his old manager as a player, Jose Mourinho, for the first time in his managerial career
Action Images via Reuters
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33/5024 September 2018
The European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt arriving in Downing Street, in London, for a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May
AFP/Getty
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34/5023 September 2018
Campaigners take part in a ‘People’s Vote’ March in central Liverpool to call for members of the public to be given a vote on the final negotiations of the UK’s exit from the European Union and coincides with the annual Labour Party Conference
EPA
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35/5022 September 2018
US telecommunications company Comcast has won the bid for Sky. Already owning 39% of shares in Sky, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox was looking to take full control, but has been outbid by Comcast at £30 billion
PA
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36/5021 September 2018
The Prime Minister responded with ire to the EU’s rejection of her Chequers deal, stating that it is “unacceptable” at this stage for them to reject a deal outright without offering an alternative, and that the UK expects to be treated with respect
Reuters
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37/5020 September 2018
Chris Evans’ wife Natasha Shishmanian has given birth to twins, a boy and girl affectionately nicknamed “Ping and Pong” throughout the pregnancy
Getty
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38/5019 September 2018
Storm Ali hit the British Isles bringing winds of up to 100mph. A woman in the Republic of Ireland was killed when her caravan was blown off of a cliff and a man in Northern Ireland was killed by a falling tree. Pictured is a bus that was carrying students of Dundee University that was hit by a falling tree in Fife
PA
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39/5018 September 2018
Car manufacturer BMW announced that its Mini factory in the UK would close for its annual summer maintenance several weeks earlier than planned, starting on April 1, 2019, to avoid any disruption in case of a no-deal Brexit
AFP/Getty
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40/5017 September 2018
“It’s either my deal or no deal”, the Prime Minister has said to the BBC’s Nick Robinson in an interview on Panorama. Mrs May also claims to be irritated by the constant speculation over her leadership, stating “this debate is not about my future. This debate is about the future of the people of the UK and the future of the United Kingdom.”
BBC/Jeff Overs
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41/5016 September 2018
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced his support for a second Brexit referendum. In The Observer, the mayor writes: “After careful consideration, I’ve decided the people must get a final say. This means a public vote on any deal or a vote on a no deal, alongside the option of staying in the EU”
BBC/PA
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42/5015 September 2018
The Liberal Democrats party conference began in Brighton. In his conference speech, leader Vince Cable is expected to elaborate on his plans for a “Movement for Moderates”
PA
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43/5014 September 2018
An early Banksy mural has been accidentally painted over during renovations. The mural has been on the shop front on Park Row in the artist’s hometown of Bristol since the 1990s
PA
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44/5013 September 2018
Suspects in the Skripal poisoning case Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov today claimed in an interview with Russian state broadcaster RT that they were visiting Salisbury as tourists. Stating “It’s famous for its 123-meter spire. It’s famous for its clock. It’s one of the oldest working clocks in the world.”
Getty
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45/5012 September 2018
Tottenham Hotspur and French National goalkeeper Hugo Lloris leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to drink driving. The footballer is accused of being over twice the legal alcohol limit when he was stopped by police on August 24
Getty
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46/5011 September 2018
David Suchet recites from Amadeus during a service of thanksgiving to celebrate the life and work of Sir Peter Hall, the former director of the National Theatre, at Westminster Abbey in London
PA
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47/5010 September 2018
Alastair Cook celebrates his century in his last ever innings playing for England during the fourth day of the fifth test cricket match against India at The Oval. He announced his retirement before the fifth test match began, ending his illustrious 12-year test career
AFP/Getty
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48/509 September 2018
Sir Mo Farah winning the The Great North Run’s elite men’s race, claiming a record-breaking fifth consecutive victory. He completed the race in under an hour
Getty/Nike
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49/508 September 2018
Britain’s former foreign secretary Boris Johnson sits in the stands during play on the second day of the fifth Test cricket match between England and India at The Oval in London
AFP/Getty
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50/507 September 2018
The poppy sculpture Wave by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper at IWM North, The Quays, Manchester. This is the final presentation of Wave as part of a four year UK-wide tour, and the sculpture will be on site until 25 November
PA
Minister for homelessness Heather Wheeler MP said: “It is simply unacceptable that anyone has to sleep on the streets, and I recognise that women sleeping rough are even more vulnerable than men.
“That is why this government is providing additional support including frontline workers trained to support homeless domestic abuse survivors.
“We have also put bold plans in place, backed by £100m in funding, to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it by 2027, as part of a £1.2bn investment in tackling all forms of homelessness.”
