18 Simon Communities in Ireland Motherhood Forty-four women (73%) were mothers and four of these women were pregnant at the time of interview. There was a total of 105 children reported across the sample and a majority of these children were under the age of 18 years (n = 77). Twenty-one of the mothers reported that one or more of their children had been placed in the care of relatives or the Health Service Executive (HSE) while fourteen were caring for their child(ren) full-time. The children of the remaining six women were adults and living independently. The experience of parenting in the context of homelessness was always depicted as challenging and distressing. Experiences of Gender-based Violence Fifty-five women (92%) had experienced some form of violence or abuse (i.e. physical, emotional, economic and/or sexual) during their lives. Forty-three (71%) had either experienced or witnessed violence and/or abuse in their homes as children while twenty-eight (46%) reported experiences of sexual abuse perpetrated by a family member, relative or a family friend. Experiences of violence or abuse often spanned the life course, with thirty-three women reporting that they had experienced violence or abuse during both childhood and adulthood. Violence from a male partner was the most common form of victimisation reported during adulthood. Two-thirds of the women (66%, n = 40) had experienced intimate partner violence and twelve of these women reported violence from more than one partner. A number of women, particularly those who engaged in sex work, had experienced violence or victimisation in street or hostel-based settings subsequent to becoming homeless. Conclusion Based on the data presented, the women in the study can be classified as an extremely marginalised group. A majority reported multiple childhood adversities, including experiences of poverty, household instability, State care and violence and/or abuse. Many first experienced housing instability or homelessness during their teenage years which is itself a marker of extreme disadvantage. Significantly, a large number of the women would be categorised as long-term homeless according to Irish and international definitions and most had been navigating the homeless service systems for many years. In other words, a large number were very familiar with homeless and/or domestic violence services and interventions. The following section examines the women’s service use patterns and interactions based on a detailed analysis of selected data from the biographical study of homeless women in Ireland (Mayock and Sheridan, 2012a,b) Approaches to Help Seeking and Presenting to Services Women’s awareness and perceptions of services appeared to strongly influence their ability, desire and willingness to interact and engage with various systems of intervention. A considerable number of women reported a lack of knowledge about available support services at the time they first experienced housing instability. This was particularly the case for women who were experiencing domestic violence: “I never heard of a domestic violence refuge in my life. They have very bad publicity about refuges and I don’t think pause, women don’t know that they are there, that they exist” (Bernadette, 37). Some of the women explained that they did not consider accessing a domestic violence service because they felt that they did not “fit the criteria”, often because they had a substance use and/or mental health problem: “I wouldn’t apply to domestic violence refuge, I wouldn’t fit the criteria to be honest” (Grainne, 31). Domestic violence services were therefore perceived by these women not to be a realistic or feasible option and, instead,
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
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