Nowhere to go: The benefits of providing long-term social housing to women that have experienced domestic and family violence

Abstract

Domestic and family violence makes a woman’s home the least safe place she can be, and getting to safety often means finding somewhere new to live. But a lack of available social and affordable housing drives many women to return to their perpetrators and the risk of violence, or into homelessness.

Stable housing is critical for women to build a safe life, as it promotes both safety and wellbeing, including for children. While ideally when situations of family and domestic violence arise women would be able to stay in their homes, and perpetrators would be removed, the reality is that many women need to leave their home to find safety.