With Financial Support from the DAPHNE III Programme of the European Union

 Partners in the UK, Hungary & Slovenia  Methodology: Grounded Theory – Glaser & Strauss (1967); Glaser (1992)  Semi structured interviews with SP and WRS in each country  Transcription and thematic analysis  Definitions adopted were crucial

 HOUSELESSNESS / HOMELESSNESS  Women in refuges, shelters or other ad hoc or temporary accommodation.  Women who remain in accommodation but are in an abusive situation.  Women who do not have a private / safe place for social relations.  Women who do not have legal title / exclusive possession to a safe home whether temporary or not.  Women who are excluded socially or legally but not necessarily physically.  Women in “Roving” accommodation.  ROOFLESSNESS  Sleeping or bedded down in the open air (streets, doorways, parks, bus shelters etc…)  Staying or sleeping in a place not designed for regular sleeping accommodation for human beings / human habitation.  Not having a registered address.  European ETHOS typology “triple exclusion” ie; social / legal / physical.  Women in “roving” accommodation.

 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE / ABUSE; INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE / ABUSE; GENDER BASED VIOLENCE / ABUSE  Partners may decide to use whatever terminology they feel is most appropriate.  VIOLENCE / ABUSE  Physical, social, psychological, honour related, sexual, economic or financial.  INTIMATE PARTNER / GENDER BASED  Occurring within a family.  Inter familial – that is, occurring within a group of peers or within a family type situation.  Within an intimate partner context.

 “Empowerment [is] a complex, multidimensional concept…..that it describe[s] a process rather than an event. Therefore, we did not believe that an individual had to display every quality on the list in order to be considered “empowered.” This definition is not necessarily a global one, but is linked specifically to the research project, and is offered as a working definition for the purpose of opening discussion as to whether “empowerment” is a meaningful term that describes a discrete mechanism used by members of the self help groups in our study.”  “A multidimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives.”  Chamberlain, J. (1997) A Working Definition of Empowerment. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 20 (4)  Page, N. & Czuba, C.E. (1999) Empowerment: What is It? Journal of Extension, 37 (5) October 1999.

 1. Having decision-making power.  2. Having access to information and resources.  3. Having a range of options from which to make choices.  4. Assertiveness.  5. A feeling that the individual can make a difference.  6. Learning to think critically; unlearning the conditioning; seeing things differently.  7. Learning to redefine who women are (speaking in their own voice).  8. Learning to redefine what women can do.  9. Learning to redefine relationships to institutionalized power.  10. Learning about and expressing anger.  11. Not feeling alone; feeling part of a group.  12. Understanding that people have rights.  13. Effecting change in one’s life and one’s community.  14. Learning skills (for example, communication) that the individual defines as important.  15. Changing others’ perceptions of one’s competency and capacity to act.  16. Coming out of the closet.  17. Growth and change that is never ending and self-initiated.  18. Increasing one’s positive self-image and overcoming stigma.

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EMPLOYMENT / EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES ACCESS TO SUPPORT SUPPORTED ACCOMMODATION PERSONAL ALARMS, DEFENCE CLASSES, OUTREACH POLICE ATTITUDES AWARENESS RAISING SERVICES FOR WOMEN WITH CHILDREN EDUCATION AND LIFE PREPARATION ACTIVITIES TO EMPOWER WOMEN SOS HELPLINE

‘Some men simply see women as a commodity....or a tool to be used and abused in order to make money. There are people out there who will pay money to have sex with a woman and live out their fantasies by abusing them or sexually exploiting them. And as long as there are such men willing to pay then there will always be men who have women they can sell as a product.’

Time to listen Engagement Ex WRS employees helps All services under one roof Thorough needs assessments; holistic approach Long term support Open door policy Mental health provision Employment, volunteering opportunities Out of hours provision Political will at UK and pan European level

 Gender specific counts  Changing perceptions and values across the EU in relation to removing the negative stigmas of homelessness for women  It is not solely women’s responsibility to reduce the violence against them, but also that of men and boys through education and role models.  More services providing a validating environment for women  Governments need to review policy impact on women who may be disproportionately affected by reforms. Generic local authority homeless strategies do not specifically consider the needs of women.