Women return to violent partners, with nowhere else to go
Jul 17, 2021 8:12:50 GMT 7
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Post by bear on Jul 17, 2021 8:12:50 GMT 7
Thousands of women end up returning to violent partners, with nowhere else to go.
Thousands of women end up returning to violent partners, with nowhere else to go.Housing shortage forces thousands of at-risk women to return to violent partners or end up homeless, report finds
Thousands of women are being forced to choose between returning to violent partners or becoming homeless due to a lack of affordable housing, new research has shown.
Key points:
• A lack of affordable housing is being blamed for 7,700 women a year returning to violent partners and over 9,000 becoming at risk of homelessness
• The Equity Economics report also found additional housing would save the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars in flow-on effects
• The findings will be presented at a women's safety summit later this month
A report by Equity Economics revealed as many as 7,700 women a year in Australia were returning to violent partners and 9,120 women were being forced into homelessness because of a chronic shortage of affordable housing.
Urgent need for more housing
The Everybody’s Home Campaign, who commissioned the report, has called on the federal government to invest in 16,800 additional social housing units to secure housing for at-risk women.
"There is such an urgent need for more social housing so women don’t get trapped in homelessness or don’t find that situation of homelessness so unsafe they return to a violent home," CEO of Everybody's Home Kate Colvin said.
"I think it’s quite shocking. You think the system will look after you … that there will be a refuge place or housing available … but the reality is there isn’t," Ms Colvin said.
"The refuges are full because women who are staying in refuges can't leave because they can't find housing."
Everybody's Home Campaign CEO Kate Colvin is calling on the federal government to fund 16,800 social housing units for women.(Supplied)
The report found more than 9,000 women and children faced homelessness each year after leaving a violent partner.
"Housing is such a critical part of women's safety — if you're a woman leaving a household with children, you need a safe home to build a future safe from violence," Ms Colvin said.
"Less women leave because they know they won't be able to find a house, or women do leave and the research shows they end up returning to violent partners because they just don't have anywhere to go."
"And that then creates further costs to the woman, further risk to her health, and even in the worst case, risks to her life."
The report estimated additional social housing would generate savings of $257 million for the government, within a year of women not returning to their violent partners or experiencing homelessness.
"By building more social housing, the federal government can inject billions into our economy, create tens of thousands of jobs and prove it is serious about helping victims of domestic and family violence," Ms Colvin said.
'Block up' in the system
Regional manager of Centacare's Riverland domestic violence service, Susie Smith, said her organisation was in desperate need of more social housing to assist women.
"There's a popular belief that women can just access services or special domestic violence accommodation services if they need," Ms Smith said.
"But the reality is, in the regions those places are always full."
"They're full because women can't access affordable housing at the other end … so what we've got is a block up in the system because of the housing crisis."
Susie Smith from the Riverland Domestic Violence Service says refuges for at-risk women in the regions are always full. (ABC Local: Kate Hill )
Ms Smith said it was common for women who could not access safe and affordable housing in the regions to return to violent partners because there was nowhere else left for them to go.
"It poses a huge danger to those women and their children. They don't have a safety net," she said.
The findings of the report will be presented at a national women's safety summit to be held at the end of this month, with governments and stakeholders meeting to shape the next national plan to reduce violence against women.
Ms Smith said affordable and safe housing for at-risk women must be at the forefront of the upcoming summit.
"It has to be, something has to change."
The ABC contacted Federal Minister for Women's Safety Anne Ruston for comment.
www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-14/housing-shortage-forcing-women-to-return-to-violent-partners/100288678
Thousands of women end up returning to violent partners, with nowhere else to go.Housing shortage forces thousands of at-risk women to return to violent partners or end up homeless, report finds
Thousands of women are being forced to choose between returning to violent partners or becoming homeless due to a lack of affordable housing, new research has shown.
Key points:
• A lack of affordable housing is being blamed for 7,700 women a year returning to violent partners and over 9,000 becoming at risk of homelessness
• The Equity Economics report also found additional housing would save the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars in flow-on effects
• The findings will be presented at a women's safety summit later this month
A report by Equity Economics revealed as many as 7,700 women a year in Australia were returning to violent partners and 9,120 women were being forced into homelessness because of a chronic shortage of affordable housing.
Urgent need for more housing
The Everybody’s Home Campaign, who commissioned the report, has called on the federal government to invest in 16,800 additional social housing units to secure housing for at-risk women.
"There is such an urgent need for more social housing so women don’t get trapped in homelessness or don’t find that situation of homelessness so unsafe they return to a violent home," CEO of Everybody's Home Kate Colvin said.
"I think it’s quite shocking. You think the system will look after you … that there will be a refuge place or housing available … but the reality is there isn’t," Ms Colvin said.
"The refuges are full because women who are staying in refuges can't leave because they can't find housing."
Everybody's Home Campaign CEO Kate Colvin is calling on the federal government to fund 16,800 social housing units for women.(Supplied)
The report found more than 9,000 women and children faced homelessness each year after leaving a violent partner.
"Housing is such a critical part of women's safety — if you're a woman leaving a household with children, you need a safe home to build a future safe from violence," Ms Colvin said.
"Less women leave because they know they won't be able to find a house, or women do leave and the research shows they end up returning to violent partners because they just don't have anywhere to go."
"And that then creates further costs to the woman, further risk to her health, and even in the worst case, risks to her life."
The report estimated additional social housing would generate savings of $257 million for the government, within a year of women not returning to their violent partners or experiencing homelessness.
"By building more social housing, the federal government can inject billions into our economy, create tens of thousands of jobs and prove it is serious about helping victims of domestic and family violence," Ms Colvin said.
'Block up' in the system
Regional manager of Centacare's Riverland domestic violence service, Susie Smith, said her organisation was in desperate need of more social housing to assist women.
"There's a popular belief that women can just access services or special domestic violence accommodation services if they need," Ms Smith said.
"But the reality is, in the regions those places are always full."
"They're full because women can't access affordable housing at the other end … so what we've got is a block up in the system because of the housing crisis."
Susie Smith from the Riverland Domestic Violence Service says refuges for at-risk women in the regions are always full. (ABC Local: Kate Hill )
Ms Smith said it was common for women who could not access safe and affordable housing in the regions to return to violent partners because there was nowhere else left for them to go.
"It poses a huge danger to those women and their children. They don't have a safety net," she said.
The findings of the report will be presented at a national women's safety summit to be held at the end of this month, with governments and stakeholders meeting to shape the next national plan to reduce violence against women.
Ms Smith said affordable and safe housing for at-risk women must be at the forefront of the upcoming summit.
"It has to be, something has to change."
The ABC contacted Federal Minister for Women's Safety Anne Ruston for comment.
www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-14/housing-shortage-forcing-women-to-return-to-violent-partners/100288678