A report written by the Flinders Institute for Housing, Urban and Regional Research as part of the Australian government’s campaign against homelessness looks at homelessness among women and children and its relationship to domestic violence.  In “Women, Domestic and Family Violence and Homelessness: A Synthesis Report,” experts found that domestic violence was the leading reason for women to seek social services in Australia.   Recent survey data shows that 1 in 6 adult Australian women has experienced actual or threatened violence from a partner, and many of them are forced to leave their homes when that space is no longer safe for them or their children.  Women who lack independent financial resources or an extended family support system often turn to government or charity shelter services, although some women and even children end up sleeping outdoors.

To combat domestic violence and homelessness the report recommends an increase in government funding and expansion of shelter and housing services, as well as the following steps:

• Developing respectful relationship resources for Australian high school students to educate young Australians, particularly boys, about the impact of domestic violence and sexual assault;
• Strengthening support for White Ribbon Day education activities in rural and regional communities to promote culture-change that will reduce violence against women;
• Strengthening and harmonising state and territorial domestic violence and sexual assault laws;
• Strengthening the Australian Institute of Criminology’s National Homicide Monitoring Program to predict risk factors and inform interventions that will protect women and their children from violence;
• Funding for research into international best practice models for working with perpetrators of violence.

From: “Women, Domestic and Family Violence and Homelessness: A Synthesis Report,” Flinders Institute for Housing, Urban and Regional Research (August 2008), 10.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made combating homelessness one of his government’s principal priorities.  In 2008 the government released the report “The Road Home: A National Approach to Reducing Homeless,” which looked at some of the many causes of homelessness and outlined the government’s strategy for cutting homelessness rates in half by the year 2020. The government has pledged $6.1 billion AUD for 2008-2013, and out of that at least $400 million will be used for building affordable housing.  The rest will go to various national and local social services.  It is currently estimated that around 105,000 people in Australia are homeless on any given night.  Approximately 44% of Australia’s homeless population are female, and almost 1/3 are children under the age of 18.

To access the full report on domestic violence and homelessness, please click here.  (PDF, 84 pages).

Compiled from: Gordon, Josh, “Rudd’s $6 billion homeless plan,” The Age (21 Dec 2008); “Women, Domestic and Family Violence and Homelessness: A Synthesis Report,” Flinders Institute for Housing, Urban and Regional Research (August 2008); “The Road Home: A National Approach to Reducing Homelessness,” Homelessness Taskforce, Australia Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (2008). (PDF, 92 pages).

For More Information

Please see the Domestic Violence section of this website, including the Domestic Violence and Housing page and the What’s New articles “Australian Government Reacts to Release of Report on Domestic Violence” (14 May 2009) and “Australia Accedes to CEDAW Optional Protocol” (2 Dec 2008).