With Financial Support from the DAPHNE III

Programme of the European Union

Empowering Women Rough Sleepers (WRS) to Protect themselves from Violence

Children Rough Sleepers (CRS) who are Runaways, Homeless and Victims of Violence on the Streets

Moss, K., Singh, P., & Wright, M. (2013) Women Rough Sleepers and Domestic Violence: A European Study. Policy Press (forthcoming)

70 – 100% homeless as a result of DV in the UK, Sweden, Hungary and Spain

Problem of comorbidity Little / no women only provision Invisibility / lack of engagement with outreach

Our research is shaped by “Grounded Theory” and “Ethnographic Qualitative Interviewing.’

Glaser & Strauss (1967) & Strauss (1992)

Carried out in the UK, Hungary and Slovenia

Extent and nature of violence against homeless / roofless women

Measure & tackle it including examples of best practice

Empowerment of women Education and the role of families

Women with children likely to be prioritised

More at risk from certain causes of homelessness /hidden homelessness / invisible homelessness or rooflessness

Long waiting times for benefits 1 in 10 homeless in the UK are women Reduction in services targeted at women Only one project for sex workers in the UK

Methods of counting flawed & inconsistent

Some work with empowerment ongoing

No official acknowledgement of the problem of homeless / roofless / rough sleeping women

Family specific problems, including;

Specific problems for older women who are widowed

Specific problems for younger women who become homeless as a result of abuse

October 2013 homeless clearance policy framed within the Hungarian Constitution based on the Hungarian Social Act 2011

Illegal to remove unwanted items from the street

World Heritage sites ban Politically disenfranchised due to voting restrictions

UK – clearance takes place using the Vagrancy Act 1824

Impact upon citizenship rights Criminal offence to sleep on the street or to beg

Social exclusion should be tackled at its root causes not by criminalisation

Merely compounds the problem and frustrates the work of support agencies

Emphasises the need for recognition that root causes lie within families, the empowerment of women and an agenda to leave no-one behind.

It is a social problem inextricably linked to poverty

Social stigma is one of the main barriers to finding solutions

Women are particularly vulnerable; problems of comorbidity; invisibility; lack of engagement; victims of abuse but do not define themselves as such

Require distinct intervention, female only provision & access to services

http://www.womenroughsleepers2.eu/

UK

Netherlands

Poland

Hungary

Portugal

Slovenia

Czech Republic

Spain

Romania

No efficient, systematic or comprehensive compilation of data for under 18 year olds producing either underestimates or exaggerations of the numbers of street children in Romania

Increases in addiction to drugs, alcohol & lack of awareness of the problems caused by these negative behaviours

Lack of equal opportunities and discrimination

CRS have negative experiences with child protection

Role of the trusted adult is crucial Dysfunctional families are main risk factor

Amongst boys prevalence of developmental disorders eg; ADHD

Professionals feel policies ineffective

Lack of training / acknowledgment of the need for training

Explicit social problems and pathologies affecting families is the main cause of child homelessness

Alcohol is a major factor Majority of children expressed that if the family functioned normally their situations would not have occurred.

FEANTSA Report on Youth Homelessness: Prague November 2013

1. Increases in youth homelessness: UK 12%, Denmark 50%, Ireland 43%, Hungary 36%, Czech Rep 38%

2. Profiles of the homeless are changing

3. Pathways into homelessness mirror our findings

4. Ineffective discharges from institutional care

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3g0jtuNMDE

Recommendations:

More housing options especially for those released from youth care

Access to adapted employment schemes

DO NOT criminalise homelessness

Develop a strategy and policy guidance to better tackle homelessness

Within the context of the SIP, a roadmap for the implementation of this strategy with thematic priorities

Promotion of transnational exchanges, training and research, social experimentation and access to structural funds.

A call to the EC to develop this strategy to help Member States make real progress in confronting homelessness by 2020.

Awareness raising of the casual factors: domestic violence, dysfunctional families, social problems, family pathologies

Education and empowerment of women and children

Awareness raising of increasing women and children’s homelessness

Tackling ineffective post institutional resettlement

“Leave no one behind” “Universal primary education and promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women”

Thank You !

If you can help us and be involved in this research by sharing your knowledge

and experiences please contact:

Professor Kate MossK.Moss@wlv.ac.uk

Paramjit SinghP.Singh6@wlv.ac.uk