Housing crisis fuelling violence against women, conference to hear
Central Statistics Office figures suggest that over half (52%) of women will experience sexual violence in their lifetimes.
The housing crisis is fuelling violence against women, and the link between the two can no longer be ignored, a major conference will hear today.
Despite many women and children trapped between two key crises in Irish society today — the housing crisis and the levels of violence against women — the conference will hear that public discussions and policy solutions treat them separately instead of exploring the link to identify solutions.
The National Women’s Council is hosting the event from Dublin, which will hear from a range of speakers including housing minister James Browne and those working at the coalface of women who have been victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
“If a woman in a violent and abusive situation has no safe and long-term housing option, she is not only a victim of gender-based violence but also a victim of a failed housing system,” National Women’s Council director Orla O’Connor said.
“A woman who is forced into sex for rent exploitation is not only affected by sexual exploitation but also let down by a broken housing market.”
The group pointed to statistics which show both record levels of homelessness in Ireland and “shocking” levels of violence against women in our society.
Focus Ireland figures suggest a 45% rise in the number of women homeless between 2022 and 2024, while Women’s Aid figures for last year showed the highest number of disclosures ever recorded in its 51-year history.
Separately, Central Statistics Office figures released in 2023 suggest that over half (52%) of women will experience sexual violence in their lifetimes.
The National Women’s Council said this all adds up to a “cycle of vulnerability that makes it extremely difficult for women and children to escape”.
“We are calling for the delivery of sufficient refuge spaces and long-term housing solutions for women and children fleeing abusive relationships,” Ms O’Connor said.
“We also want to see the outlawing of sex for rent exploitation and the delivering of trauma informed housing for women exiting the sex trade and victims of trafficking.”
The conference will see keynote addresses by Trinity College Dublin associate professor at the school of social work and social policy Paula Maycock, and from the head of service delivery and development at Cuan, the State agency to battle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, Elizabeth Pena.
Previous research conducted by Ms Maycock with Focus Ireland has suggested that domestic abuse victims are often forced, with multiple changes of accommodation, into homelessness after fleeing domestic abuse.
As well as hearing from several civil society organisations and support services, it will also feature a panel discussion from political party spokespeople on how to respond to both crises.
"For many women, the experience of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence leads directly to the loss of housing,” Ms Maycock said.
“We know from research that the process of leaving an abusive relationship is complex. This complexity is strongly connected to the coercion, power and control exerted over women by their abusive partner, within which the threat of losing one’s home is inherent to the abuses that women experience.”
- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
