The following is a conversation between Aimee Lowe, Service Manager at Framework and Tim Renshaw, CEO of The Archer Project.
Please note this blog contains a short description of sexual assault and violence against women, and also mentions drug addiction, drug use, rape, child abuse, and attempted suicide (no graphic descriptions).
Aimee has worked in the homeless sector for almost eighteen years and right from the start she knew that homelessness for women was different. I realise that I haven’t and whilst I’ve read about and understand more about female homelessness, understanding will always be through listening to people like Aimee.
I asked her to lay out the issues for me. She responded without missing a beat, as if it was all pent up, “I think there is an expectation that [women] will be involved in some form of exchange for sex, wherever they are. We see a lot of women who have been sexually assaulted or raped by male clients. We've seen women have drugs forcibly removed, putting it bluntly, even from their vagina. They risk having their teeth kicked in if they refuse. There are many good police officers, but we've been to police stations with women who want to report assault, and officers have treated them appallingly because there's almost this assumption of those women deserving it.
“There is limited ‘women only’ accommodation. There is some evidence that the eviction rate of women is higher than the eviction rate of men because women are expected to behave better than men and men's behaviour is tolerated. And child removal is a massive part of our female cohort's life. And that really impacts their ability to engage with services and their ability to trust. I could go on.”
Rachel’s story* isn’t untypical. She used youth homeless services before adult homeless services. In prison she learned about the impact of her childhood trauma on the way her brain works. She’s worked out that her use of drugs was to take away the pain of remembering that trauma and living in fear. But knowing doesn’t change the reality. She suffers violence because her male partner offers protection on the street. Accepting his punishment, when she doesn’t provide for his needs, is the price she pays for others leaving her alone.
Recently, she gained accommodation and tried to put distance between herself and her partner, but he found her. Moving her was problematic for her landlord so she went back to the street, and eventually, she went back to him. She would say that was the safest thing she could do.
Aimee says the evidence suggests women are calculating risk constantly. What is the safest thing? Very rarely has she found women sleeping alone on the street. Normally there is that male for some security or women will stay together in a little group. Whilst being in a group may offer some temporary safety, it doesn’t protect from emotional experiences.
Clair* has had three children. After the second was taken into care she tried to take her life. She remembers them every day and she feels the loss. It comes in a toxic brew of self-hatred, guilt, hope that she might know them sometime in the future and a fear that if that happened, they would reject her. Aimee remembers being on outreach one morning and waking her up. Clair told her it was her son’s birthday, and she knew it was going to be a horrible day and that she would use more drugs than usual. Although we know this isn’t the best way to cope, Aimee told me, “As a mother I can empathise with this, most of us would do similar if we were in Clair’s shoes.”
Most of our services aren’t set up for this level of need. How do you comfort a grieving mother who has no place of her own, who experienced abuse as a child and doesn’t want her own to know that same abuse, and understands that her baby going into care is the best option?
I suspect that some will read this and want to suggest ‘easy’ solutions, or ask why Clair and Rachel don’t just sort themselves out. Trauma doesn’t work that way. Trauma clings onto all areas of a person's life and robs them of options others take for granted.
As we end Aimee says, “Do you want to put any actual facts in? Like, in terms of the head count, it was only three women found rough sleeping in Sheffield, but the Homeless Women Census found 104 women who met the rough sleeping definition, using data from just eight organisations?
“And that takes us back to the very real issue that most women experiencing homelessness remain hidden.”
*Names changed to protect identities.
Framework staff have supported rough sleepers in Sheffield since 2017, funded by Sheffield City Council.
The five members of the Street Outreach Team conduct daily pre-dawn walks to check on the welfare of rough sleepers – including Christmas Day. During the day the team continues to engage with clients to help them obtain housing, mental and physical health support and benefits.
In addition to its work in Sheffield, the charity provides housing, health treatment, employment advice and training, and support and care, to around 18,000 people each year across Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
