1. Housing interventions to address domestic violence
Stopping Domestic Violence: What Works?
28th to 30th May 2008, Waterford Institute of Technology
Housing interventions to address domestic violence
Gina Netto
School of the Built Environment
Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh
May 2008

2. Introduction This paper will:
Place housing interventions related to DV in the context of the homelessness prevention agenda and the gendered nature of homelessness
Appraise policy responses for
women who stay at home
women who leave home
Consider the issues faced by survivors of DV
Identify good practice and what remains to be done to inform practice in the field

3. Homelessness and DV
DV is recognised as a major contributory factor of homelessness
Definition of DV in Housing Act 1996:
Violence from a person with whom he is associated or threats of violence from such as person which are likely to be carried out
Violence is interpreted as extending beyond physical violence to include threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional)
Recognised that while both men and women may be victims, women more likely to:
suffer repeat victimisation
be inflicted with physical injury and emotional harm
Be responsible for dependent children

4. Rights to housing
Right to housing is an essential part of citizenship in certain countries
General Comment 4 of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the UN states that right to housing should not be narrowly defined: includes ‘right to live in peace, security and dignity’
In the UK, local authorities have a statutory duty to provide assistance to families and other defined groups who are not intentionally homeless

5. Homelessness prevention agenda
Legislative drivers
Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977: local authorities expected to prevent as well as respond to homelessness
Homelessness Act 2002: local authorities encouraged to:
Become more pro-active in tackling homelessness
Produce homelessness strategies for people who are homeless and at risk of becoming homeless
Develop initiatives which deal with different scenarios which might place an individual at risk of losing his/her accommodation, including DV

6. Rationale for investment in homelessness prevention
More than a roof acknowledges the wider impacts of homelessness beyond loss of shelter: loss of social ties, impacts on education, training and entry into employment, emotional trauma
Homelessness Prevention defined as:
‘activities that enable a household to remain in their current home, where appropriate, or that provide options to enable a planned and timely move and help to sustain independent living’ (ODPM, 2003)
Recognition of cost effective benefits of investing in homelessness prevention, local authorities encouraged to ‘spend to save’

7. Housing interventions to prevent homelessness
Three stages where local government can intervene to prevent homelessness
Early intervention: where those at risk are identified and services provided to prevent problems from escalating
Pre-crisis intervention: eg advice services to prevent loss of home, planning before institutional discharge
Preventing recurring homelessness: extends beyond rehousing to ensure sustainability of tenancy (ODPM, 2003)
In cases of DV, there are particular challenges around early intervention and pre-crisis intervention

8. Challenges for early intervention in the case of DV (1)
Research suggests that leaving home is usually the last resort
Often, leaving home is crisis-driven and unplanned
Policy options, until recently, were limited
Research suggests that, in practice, survivors continue to face considerable difficulties

9. Challenges in preventing homelessness: the scale of DV (2)
Relationship breakdown - main cause of homelessness for about a fifth of hhlds assessed ‘homeless & in priority need’ in England
About two thirds of these cases (13% of all homelessness acceptances) involve DV
220 local authority homelessness strategies (62% of total) contained proposals for addressing homelessness due to DV

10. Challenges in preventing homelessness due to DV (3)
Recognised that estimates of women’s homelessness are under-estimated due to hidden nature of such homelessness
Women often stay with friends or go directly to refuges and apply to council housing register

11. Challenges in preventing homelessness due to DV (4)
Residualisation of social housing:
RtB
Lack of new build
Transfer of housing stock from local authorities to housing associations
Challenge lies in reconciling the safety of survivors with shortages in accommodation

12. Housing support and DV: Past Current
DV traditionally seen as an issue belonging to the private realm
Traditional forms of support:
Tended to be reactive, crisis-driven
Provision of temporary accommodation, refuge provision
Refuge provision
Support with remaining at home
‘Sanctuary schemes’
Legal measures for removing perpetrators
Assistance with planned moves from homes
Resettlement support

13. Housing support now Underpinned by recognition that
Often victims will leave home in an emergency situation (refuges always needed)
BUT more effort is invested in favour of women leaving home in a planned and safe way
Recognition of some women’s choice to remain at home, where perpetrator has been excluded
Recognition of the need for ongoing support after women have been rehoused

14. Local authority assistance
Local authority has a duty to assist if women:
Are unintentionally homeless
Are in priority need
Are eligible
Women will be considered to be in priority need if they are:
Pregnant
Have dependent children
Are vulnerable due to mental illness or disability
Are homeless as a result of emergency, flood fire or disaster
Suggests that single women (with no dependent children) may NOT be viewed as being in priority need
Assistance can take the form of advice and/or provision of temporary and permanent accommodation

15. Support for women who wish to remain at home (1)
Needs to be underpinned by greater understanding of why women would choose to remain at home
No single definition of home, associated with:
Material conditions
Privacy
Space
Safety, Control
Stability
Choice
Self-expression
Leisure
Physical and emotional well-being
Acceptable standards can vary (Watson and Austerberry, 1986)

16. Gendered nature of vulnerability to homelessness
Gendered place of women in the home/family
Men are still primary wage earner in the majority of cases;
Men favoured as tenant or mortgager (though practice is changing)
Female dependency on men for access to housing and housing security; women more vulnerable to homelessness than men (Watson and Austenberry, 1986)

17. Women’s role in the home

23. Support for women who remain at home (2)
Loss of home means far more than loss of shelter and access to key services, also results in personal loss of control, privacy
Good practice messages for local authority housing officer and others offering assistance:
Understanding and non-judgemental response
Believing the applicant and not asking for proof of violence
Ensuring safety of survivors
Maintaining confidentiality

24. Support for women who remain at home: legal measures (3)
Application for occupation orders which decide who will live in the home
Temporary measure (abt 6 months) which excludes abuser from the home
Court has power to order abuser to pay rent, mortgage or other outgoings
Allows victim to consider other options
Transfer of tenancy: where tenancy is shared, victims can apply for transfer to their name under Part IV Schedule 7 of the Family Law

25. Supporting for women staying at home: Sanctuary schemes (4)
Involves provision of security measures and adaptations to help women remain in their own homes, where perpetrator has been excluded
May take the form of a ‘safe room’, or panic buttons to alert local police
Can be undertaken either on a permanent basis or as a temporary measure until planned move can be made

26. Support for women who remain at home (5)
Under-researched area, possibly due to difficulties in negotiating access to women
Some evidence of the cost effectiveness of sanctuary schemes in terms of reducing homelessness acceptances by local authorities
Not known how effective legal measures and sanctuary schemes are in enabling women to remain at home

27. Preventing homelessness among women leaving home (1)
Women’s issues
Lack of respect, not being taken seriously, stigma of DV: ‘’Your battles are just beginning’ ‘You feel penalised for leaving your partner
Words often used to describe contact with agencies: ‘demoralising’, ‘emotionally draining’
Good practice messages
Believing, respectful and non-judgemental service
Holistic approach, with explanation of all options and exploration of risks
Timely and pro-active intervention (esp at initial stages on making contact/leaving violent relationship)

28. Support for women leaving home (2)
Women’s issues
Lack of awareness of sources of support
Need for wide ranging support: from police, solicitors, advice agencies, financial support etc
‘it was very overwhelming…where do I go? Who do I see?’
‘It was like being sent from pillar to post’
Need ‘for one stop service’
Good practice
Need for widespread targeted dissemination of sources of support
Multi-agency domestic fora
Strategy for preventing homelessness due to DV
Common terminology
information sharing
Understanding of roles of different agencies
Specialist support and trained staff

29. Preventing homelessness among women leaving home (3)
Good practice
Early intervention
Timely support to enable planned move
Appropriate temporary and permanent accommodation for families
Outreach services and information provision
Tenancy sustainment services
Women’s issues
Need for safety, security and stability
Need to make transition to independent living
Need for continued support
Accessing benefits
Access to training/employment

30. Issues faced by minority ethnic women (4)
Different forms of domestic violence, including threat of ‘forced’ marriage (not arranged marriages)
In some cases, lack of support from members of family due to distance of family members or acceptance of violence
Lack of knowledge of sources of support; lack of fluency in English
Among women who have been living in the UK for a year, ‘no recourse to public funds’
Lack of appropriate refuge provision: isolation, fear of harassment
Lack of appropriate permanent accommodation (Davis, 2005; Netto et al, 2004)

31. Issues faced by disabled women in leaving home (5)
Lack of appropriate refuge accommodation for those with physical difficulties
Lack of support for women with mental health problems
Reluctance to leave adapted homes
Additional difficulties in leaving home (Davis, 2005)

32. Good practice: assessing local authority performance (6)
BVPi 225 sets a standard for all district and unitary councils to aim for
Consists of 11 indicators to assess local authority effectiveness of services to help survivors of DV
Key areas included:
Setting up of a multi-agency strategy
Establishment of a DV fora
Local DV coordinator to be employed
Directory of local services
Actions on homelessness prevention and tenancy sustainment

33. Barriers to good practice
Shortage of accommodation
Lack of statistical data at local authority level
Poor coordination and communication among relevant agencies
Lack of specialist trained staff
Women generally had little control over where they were re-housed (Davis, 2005); women from minority ethnic backgrounds had even less choice

34. Impacts of post-2002 ‘homelessness prevention’ drive
Source: Communities & Local Government website

35. Conclusions
Major shifts in the form of housing interventions for women facing DV in the UK; evidence of reduction of homelessness acceptances
Current policy is to widen options for survivors of domestic abuse who either choose to remain at home or choose to leave
Lack of evaluative research in the area of the comparative effectiveness of various housing options
Some clear indicators of what would constitute good practice in terms of offering what women value, early intervention and multi-agency working
Long way to go before housing provision can meet housing and associated requirements for survivors of DV
Policies and practice needs to be underpinned by greater understanding of the gendered nature of women’s position in the home and greater vulnerability to homelessness

36. References
Davis, C (2005) Domestic violence and housing in the Eastern region: summary report. University of Salford: Salford
Levison, D. and Harwin, N (2000) Reducing domestic violence…what works? Accommodation provision; Home Office: London
Netto, G (2006) Vulnerability to homelessness: use of services and homelessness prevention in Black and Minority ethnic communities. Housing Studies, Vol 21 No
Pawson, H, Netto, G and Jones, C (2006) Homelessness prevention: a guide to good practice; DCLG: London
Watson, S and Austerberry (1986) Housing and homelessness: a feminist perspective; Routledge and Regan Paul: London