Women’s plight on the city streets exposed in new report

A new report into the city’s homeless women published today shows their devastating plight.

The report published by Brighton Housing Trust (BHT) found that every one of the women interviewed had been affected by physical and sexual violence.

It also found that women living on Brighton and Hove’s streets have an average life expectancy of just 43 - dying four years earlier than the city’s homeless men.

Even when the women did find beds in hostel, they still suffered an appalling rate of physical and sexual abuse.

Report author Cathy Bunker interviewed 15 women who were, or had previously been, homeless in Brighton and Hove in order to understand the daily issues they face.

She said: “I was moved by their stories, inspired by their resourcefulness and feel privileged to have met them all. Women manage their homelessness in ways that are different to men. Many homeless women engage in informal strategies that keep them invisible. For example, they sofa surf, hide, form or stay in relationships to keep a roof over their head. When they sleep on the street they are creative in finding hidden places to sleep and strategies for personal safety.”

The women’s every day lives are plagued by horrific experiences.

They told how they would sleep during the safer daylight hours to be alert to the dangers of the streets at night.

Many of the women avoided day centres for the homeless because they felt threatened.

Several women said they would not report assaults to police, either due to fear of recriminations from their attackers or because they did not trust the police.

The report also highlighted that many of the women are ‘invisible’ to traditional homeless services as they sofa surf, sleep on the streets and in cars.

The women said they slept in groups for protection.

Some of the most vulnerable women spoken to as part of the study said they formed relationships for protection in what they described as “survival sex”.

Andy Winter, BHT chief executive, said: “The challenge to us is what can we do as individuals and organisations? As organisations we can look at how we work with street homeless women and make changes demanded by this report. BHT will do this. As individuals, we can support one or more of those services in Brighton and Hove that work with homeless women, including BHT itself.”

Ms Bunker added: “I hope this report will increase the understanding of some of the issues they face and have an impact so that more homeless women can find safety, housing and fulfilment in their lives.”

‘I GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I DIDN’T CARE IF I WOKE UP’

THE women who took part in the homeless study bravely spoke out about their experiences of rape, physical attacks and degrading treatment in their daily lives.

Lauren sought protection from a male friend on the streets.

She spent three months living with him until he violently assaulted and raped her.

She said: “I felt safer and I learnt everything I knew from a guy I was with for three months and then I was really nastily assaulted and raped by that guy, who I implicitly completely trusted.

“I had to get to the point where I was black and blue and in hospital with broken ribs and things hanging off and blood.

“It was horrible.”

Lauren said she was too scared to report her attack to the police but a doctor who treated her at the Royal Sussex County Hospital was so concerned about the severity of her injuries he reported it on her behalf.

She said: “I’m not surprised people get deeper into their addiction whilst being homeless because it’s the only thing that makes you go ‘it’s all right’.

“Being out there mentally disturbed us for the rest of your life. I got to the point where I didn’t care.

“I really didn’t. I would shut my eyes at night and think well if they don’t open, c’est la vie.

“If you actually sobered up on the streets you would think ‘oh my goodness I have just taken a sandwich out of a bin to eat. It’s disgusting’.”

Even those who have a bed in a hostel said they were no safer.

Nancy, who became homeless because of domestic violence, was found a place to live in a hostel that was just as violent.

She said: “They housed me where there was loads of violence. There were always fears of what might happen, physical assault and sexual assault.

“I am more scared of men under the influence of drugs and alcohol and can be more aggressive. Those are the kind of things that I found really scary in a hostel.

“Somebody had a major breakdown in the middle of the night, kicking the doors down, threatening to kill us.

“That then triggers me back to the old domestic violence.”

The experience sparked a recurrence of the post traumatic stress disorder Nancy had previously suffered and left her living in isolation, locked in her room fearing another attack.

Nancy’s partner was violent towards her but she stayed with him rather than facing the risk of assaults on the street.

She said: “My son’s father was so violent I put him in prison six times and the reason I didn’t walk away is I didn’t have anywhere to go.”

Grace said: “I’ve seen both men and women get kicked and punched just by random people.

“I think it’s scarier for women.

“Most men think they can handle anyone but most women know they can’t.

“You do sleep with kind of one ear open, it’s not like a restful sleep.”

Bianca said: “You don’t ever sleep on your own. That’s too dangerous. That’s why we stay in groups with the women, we stay together like two or three of us so it’s better.

“Sleeping next to a friend has the added benefit of being warmer, a source of comfort and two of you to find resources: food, drink, cardboard for insulation and somewhere safe to sleep.

“You just bide your time and bide your time and you’ve just got to keep your head down.

“If you sit and worry and you dissect what’s going on around you, you will go mental... you can’t.

“You almost have to block it out, you have to physically, mentally, spiritually... just to survive, to keep your sanity.”

Many of the women described their experiences on the streets as awful, dirty and degrading.

They struggle to find public toilets where they can wash and described their embarrassment of having to go outside when toilets are closed.

Jo said: “Everyone’s looking but they are not looking at you, they’re looking through you like you’re not there.

“Having to carry toilet roll around with you and then it’s like you are a dog picking up your own mess and putting it away.

“You do you feel like an animal out there.

“I think people immediately assume you have done something, like really awful and you’ve failed and I even thought that of myself.

“I definitely thought I have failed.

“How come I ended up in this situation?

“I never thought this would happen. I came from a middle class family. It’s another thing to feel ashamed about, I’m homeless and I’ve got no money.”

Megan said she had suffered multiple attacks for being transgender.

She added: “I’ve been kicked in the head while sleeping rough.

“I am too scared to go out of the building for fear of abuse and attack. I just don’t feel safe in Brighton at all, being trans and sleeping rough.”

Abi said being around addicts when she attended support services made her situation worse.

She said: “It all went a bit bad and we all got into drugs and alcohol and started fighting.

“It’s meant to help you but it makes you ten times worse.”

Issie described how bad things were in one hostel.

She said: “I felt like I had hit the bottom rung of life by that time.”

After several years living in one hostel, Darcie’s outlook was bleak.

“I don’t think I will ever get out,” she said.

“I will die in a hostel.”

ATTACKED WHILE SHE SLEEPS

ELLA, 28, says physical and sexual abuse is so commonplace she often does not even know if she’s been attacked when she wakes up.

She spends her days outside the Co-op in North Street, Brighton, and she has a bed at the West Pier Hostel, but says she does not feel much safer there.

She has been homeless for a year and a half having got into a “really bad situation” and has an alcohol problem.

When she spoke To the Argus yesterday she was covered in bruises in scratches. She had a large bump on her forehead.

She says violence is so common she often forgets what has happened.

After she eventually falls asleep, drunk, in her hotel bed or a doorway, she often wakes fearing she may have been abused.

“I wake up not sure what’s happened to me,” she said. “I wake up covered in bruises and scratches.

“You know you have been touched on the floor but can’t quite remember. I know people who have woken up in hospital.”

Ella never imagined her life would end up as it has. At just 28 she should have her life ahead of her, but can’t see as far as tomorrow.

“It’s really hard,” she said.

“I never wanted to drink because of my mum’s problems with it.

“You keep trying to get back to what you were and you never can.

“The choices you make are irreversible. I’ve made some bad choices, I know that, but it’s hard to get back.”