In Australia, having access to safe, affordable housing is essential to supporting women and children escaping violence.
Mission Australia reports that domestic and family violence is the most common reason given for homelessness from people seeking help from specialist support services. They also point out that more than 6,800 women aged 55 and over are homeless but the proportion of older women experiencing homelessness continues to increase, with a rise of over 30% in five years.
Here are some statistics from Kate Colvin from the national campaign Everybody’s Home,
- 7,690 women return to perpetrators of violence every year because they have nowhere else to live.
- 9,120 women become homeless every year after leaving due to domestic violence and being unable to secure long-term housing.
- 39,000 people go to homelessness services every year seeking long-term housing after experiencing domestic violence but 37,867 miss out.
“Thousands of women across Australia are currently having to choose between staying in a violent home and homelessness. That is unacceptable,” she said.
“Without further funding for social housing and an improvement in social security payments, the federal government cannot begin to address domestic violence in an adequate way.”