Car or tent? The housing options for many women

For thousands of women fleeing domestic violence in Australia overnight accommodation means sleeping in the car, couch surfing or, if they are really lucky, a room in a boarding house. The latest report into homelessness and domestic violence in Australia makes grim reading. According to Homelessness Australia 58,589 women and 37,8825 children sought help in 2022-23 after experiencing domestic and family violence.

[1] With a chronic shortage of crisis housing, many of these women and children ended up in short-term or temporary accommodation – and almost 2,500 were forced to sleep rough in a car. Services in some regional towns in NSW are now handing out tents to women because there is no suitable accommodation for them. In Newcastle, women fleeing domestic violence have been taking refuge in a car park, staffed by security guards, where they can get access to food, showers and a laundry. The demand has been overwhelming. Kelly Hansen, the chief executive of Nova, a Newcastle-based domestic violence service provider, says women had been sleeping in cars before the secure car park. Nova has been giving some women tents to sleep in. “What can I say, it’s a crisis,” she said. “Women sleeping in their cars is not a solution to [proper] housing. It isn’t, and we don’t condone it. But we don’t have another answer.”

[2] The link between homelessness for women and domestic violence is well-known. According to Homelessness Australia 45% of all women and girls seeing emergency accommodation are fleeing domestic violence. “Housing insecurity and homelessness also play a critical role in enabling, or preventing, women achieving safety,” it said. “Lack of access to safe housing creates an enormous hurdle that prevents many women from escaping violence.”

[3] There is plenty of evidence to show that without secure, safe and affordable accommodation many women are forced to return to an abusive partner, with others unable to leave in the first place. “Of those experiencing violence, 90,000 women wanted to separate but were unable to do so, with more than 20,000 saying the lack of money or financial support was the main reason they were unable to leave a violent partner,” it said. Ironically, many women are returning to their partners to protect themselves or their children from the ill-effects of homelessness.

Providing a safe refuge for women The situation for women fleeing domestic violence is acute in New South Wales with increasing numbers of women and children reaching out to homelessness services. In 2022-23 there were 581 women and children sleeping rough in NSW – that’s two-fold increase over 2012-13.

Experts say that the situation has been exacerbated by the current housing crisis which is making most private rental property unaffordable to those on a single income and/or with young children. Authorities have struggled to keep up with the demand for new crisis accommodation in Sydney and major regional centres across NSW – blaming the delays on labour shortages post-COVID.
In 2021, the state government pledged to build 75 new women’s refuges across the state, but only two have opened, both in Western Sydney. Many of those working in the welfare sector are concerned that the housing crisis and mounting cost of living pressures will put further strain on families, leading to more abuse and violence. Anna Baltins, the acting director of Legal Aid NSW’s domestic violence unit, says the service had seen an increase in domestic violence reports and requests for help, particularly in regional NSW. “We’ve had clients who have said that they won’t leave a violent home because they have nowhere to go,” Baltins said. “They can’t afford to find new housing or there’s no housing available.”

Habitat for Humanity Australia, a leading housing provider, is working hard to deliver accommodation for women fleeing family or domestic violence . In 2022 Habitat for Humanity Australia was awarded a federal government grant to build four units to house women and children across NSW, with a particular focus on indigenous families. More recently Habitat for Humanity Australia has partnered with Sydney developer and builder ALAND which has provided volunteer teams to maintain its existing housing stock and is now supporting its innovative Sharp program, which provides deserving families with safe and secure accommodation at below-market rents.

[4] “We know that having safe tenure not only reduces stress but actually improves employment outcomes, education and health outcomes,” says Nicole Stanmore, CEO of Habitat for Humanity. “We’re only have Sharp because of the generosity of developers like ALAND. This initiative will help so many people access safe and secure
housing.”

Sources:
[1] Homelessness Australia State of Response Report 2024
[2] Sydney Morning Herald
[3] Homelessness Australia State of Response Report 2024
[4] Habitat for Humanity