Hard Lives, Mean Streets: Violence in the Lives of Homeless Women

10: Conclusions

= 10 = Conclusions I think being homeless—as a homeless woman—is very degrading to herself because you are already feeling bad about yourself and you don’t need nobody else to help you feel bad because you are already there. I think a homeless woman, if she don’t have to be homeless, should try her darndest not to be homeless. —Tamara Throughout this book, we have discussed how violence and homelessness are inextricably linked. In fact, although the public perception is that homeless individuals are perpetrating violence, the reality is that they are much more likely to be victims of violence (Donley 2008). The National Coalition for the Homeless documents increasing attacks on homeless men, women, and children, with the number of fatal attacks rising 40 percent from 2006 to 2007 (National Coalition for the Homeless 2009). Donley’s (2008) analysis of the nshapc data demonstrates that nearly one in four homeless individuals are physically assaulted or beaten up, and 7 percent are sexually assaulted or raped while homeless. The nshapc data show that although men and women are equally at risk for physical assault while homeless, women are more than three times as likely as men to be victims of sexual assault. This >nding is consistent with the relationship between violence and homelessness for women that has been our focus. Indeed, the prevalence of sexual abuse in childhood and its later e=ects, intimate partner victimization in adulthood, and heightened risks related to sexual attack are all aspects to the relationship between violence and homelessness for women that are uniquely gendered. Intimate partner victimization has been identi>ed as a signi>cant pathway toward homeless- 152 HARD LIVES, MEAN STREETS ness for women, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness has identi >ed domestic violence as one of its important policy areas. With limited a=ordable housing in general and long waiting lists for government-assisted housing, women with few resources often are faced with the agonizing choice of staying with an abuser or becoming homeless. Current government and private resources are stretched to their limit and may not be meeting the needs of everyone who is trying to escape domestic violence in their home—and the need is enormous, as demonstrated by the annual census of domestic violence services. On September 17, 2008, domestic violence programs nationwide reported that more than 30,000 victims of domestic violence received emergency shelter or transitional housing on that day (National Network to End Domestic Violence 2008). This is the number of women who were aware of resources and could >nd somewhere to get help on one day. It excludes women who did not know where to turn for help, felt they did not deserve help, or were prevented from seeking help. Our goal in this book has been to present a more complete picture than what currently exists in the research of the complexities of homelessness and violence for women. We did this through extensive surveying and indepth interviewing of more than 700 homeless women in Florida. We have found violence to be a common thread connecting the life histories of these women. It is part of the web of lived experiences that led each of them into homelessness and that will challenge each of them throughout their lives. Women like Tamara, one of the interview participants we quoted in earlier chapters, have multiple experiences that illustrate how early victimization shapes their identities and worldview. Consider Tamara’s childhood. Her abuse began when she was seven years old, when she was sexually victimized by her babysitter. This abuse continued for almost two years. As a teenager, she was brutally raped by her sister’s husband, who so damaged her uterus that she was told she would be unable to bear children. In both instances, family support was nonexistent, and Tamara had no support or counseling to deal with her victimization: So, but instead of dealing with my mental stability with those factors, they dealt more with me not fitting in with the other children. I wasn’t on the other children ’s level. And yeah, I did [become] withdrawn. I began to feel and act different . I wouldn’t take baths with my sisters no more. I really didn’t want to sleep Conclusions 153 with them anymore, I didn’t want to take off my clothes in front of them. At school, I didn’t want to...