The hidden homelessness crisis is fuelled by the scourge of domestic abuse

At Refuge, we know domestic abuse impacts one in four women. For many, abuse can push them into housing insecurity and even homelessness. With failing statutory systems and specialist refuge funding at a cliff-edge, women without financial means to find safe housing face the prospect of destitution.

A 2023 report by homelessness charity St Mungo’s found almost half of their female clients had experienced domestic abuse, yet this hidden crisis of homelessness has long been overlooked. Having worked in the violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector for decades, I can say that it’s now harder than ever for survivors of domestic abuse to find safe accommodation.

Over my years working on the National Domestic Abuse Helpline I spoke to countless survivors with nowhere else to turn. Every two minutes someone contacts the helpline. Often we hear from women who have just fled abuse. In many cases they have nothing, may be injured, and are in urgent need. While Refuge is equipped to provide advice and support, the stories we hear reveal huge barriers to securing safe housing – barriers that highlight the urgent need for systemic reform.

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The impact can be horrific. In one case, a mother resorted to sleeping in a car with her three children because housing and social services couldn’t agree on who should support her. More recently, one local authority offered a survivor a tent. Having a safe place to call home is integral to rebuilding your life free from abuse – and the fact that so many survivors are being denied this at what might be the most vulnerable time in their lives is devastating.

Although legislation states that women who have experienced domestic abuse should be given priority in housing allocation, in practice this is not happening. It is in this gap between law and implementation that survivors are being failed, over and over again.

Read more:

• Calls for a law change to protect survivors of domestic abuse left on the verge of financial ruin
• No women should ever be sent to prison for enduring domestic abuse
• New rules could stop domestic abuse victims from having to live near abusers

Other barriers include demands for evidence of abuse or ID documentation – items many survivors do not have, as they often leave the homes they share with their abusers with nothing. Women with no recourse to public funds are at high risk of exploitation and face destitution – with even fewer avenues for support than most. Without access to benefits or public housing, many are left completely without safety nets.

Those who experience economic abuse or fraud are often told they have made themselves ‘intentionally homeless’. When survivors turn to their local authority, they frequently struggle to secure appointments and may encounter staff who do not understand how coercive control can impact a woman’s ability to advocate for herself.

To make matters worse, we often see women who have experienced rape or sexual assault being offered unsuitable accommodation – such as shared housing with men. This is wholly inappropriate. Yet, if they refuse such housing, they risk being penalised and labelled as having made themselves homeless by choice, putting them at direct risk of street homelessness.

Similar issues arise when survivors are offered accommodation hundreds of miles away from family and friends. One survivor resorted to sleeping in her car for two months due to the local authority’s failure to offer her suitable accommodation. She rang Refuge after her MOT expired, fearing her car would be towed. 

There’s no single solution, and it’s essential the government takes a holistic approach. We urgently need to close the gap between law and practice, with real accountability for local authorities that fail to meet their duty. We need much closer collaboration between housing, social services and children’s services – which currently work in silos – and we need the unique needs of survivors to be taken seriously.

More than anything, we must address the chronic underfunding faced by Refuge, the UK’s largest domestic abuse organisation, and other services in the sector. Without proper investment, domestic abuse survivors will continue to fall through the cracks.

Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available on 0808 2000 247 for free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A live chat service is also available from 10am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 6pm on weekends. For further information and advice, visit Refuge’s National Helpline. For support with tech-facilitated abuse, visit Refuge’s technology safety page

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