Women and homelessness

Homelessness is dangerous. The term is often associated with people who sleep rough; however, it can include anyone who does not have a home (Royal College of Nursing, 2023). Homeless people include those whose accommodation is insecure, those facing eviction, people living in temporary accommodation, those squatting, people at risk of violence, those housed in property potentially damaging to their health and those who cannot afford their current accommodation.

There are more than 75 000 women and their families who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation in the UK (Shelter, 2021). The average age of death for women experiencing homelessness in the UK is 43 years, when the average life expectancy of women in the general population is 83 years (Single Homeless Project, 2023). The reasons why women are homeless are complex and very often multifactorial.