Launch of European Evidence Review on Women's Homelessness

Posted on 22 April 2021

Dr Joanne Bretherton, from the Centre for Housing Policy, has review on women's homelessness published.

New international research has highlighted progress in understanding women’s experience of homelessness across Europe and the Global North, but shown there are still significant gaps in the evidence base and more work to do in developing effective prevention, strategy and services that recognise, respect and respond to homeless women’s needs. This collaborative project was led by
Dr Joanne Bretherton in the Department's Centre for Housing Policy, working with Dr Paula Mayock at Trinity College, Dublin and FEANTSA, the European Federation of Organisations working to reduce homelessness. The review highlights the gender dynamics of homelessness, which women often experience differently from men, as a traumatic process with a high human cost that is strongly associated with domestic abuse. Women's actions and decisions shape pathways through homelessness that often differ from those of men. Much of what is widely described as ‘family’ homelessness actually involves lone women parents with their dependent children.

As part of the Review's launch Joanne and Paula shared their preliminary findings of the evidence review at the FEANTSA webinar in Brussels on Women's Homelessness 'A Gender Lens: Seeing the Needs and Realities of Women who Experience Homelessness'.

Dr Joanne Bretherton said “This European review brings together the current evidence on women’s homelessness and highlights both what has been achieved in this field in recent years and the work that still needs to be done. By building on the work we have done with the Women’s Homelessness in Europe Network (WHEN), I hope this report will help shape an and stimulate new European, UK and Global research agendas around women’s homelessness."

Download the FEANTSA European Evidence Review on Women's Homelessness: FEANTSA Women's Homelessness Review (PDF , 1,031kb).