Women, Homelessness and Service Provision 23 “There was a lot of tension in hostel with the other women and stuff like that. And I had been through all that, through my life, you know what I mean, tension with women and stuff. And you know I just wanted to get out of there and I just wanted a bit of peace of mind and a bit of quietness. And there were girls wanting me to get involved in their gangs and stuff like that and, you know, I was like ‘Oh here, I’m a bit too old for this now’.” (Rosie, 38) In a smaller number of cases, women reported instances of sexual abuse or harassment from male residents within service environments which caused considerable distress and exacerbated their sense of vulnerability within emergency accommodation settings: “When I was in B&Bs I had men coming onto me during the night and everyone was asleep they thought I was asleep, trying to feel me up and down, they were” (Viv, 35). Where possible, these women tried to avoid service settings that housed both males and females. Indeed, several – particularly those who had experienced domestic violence and/or child sexual abuse – expressed a preference for women-only services because of their concerns about being housed alongside men. Rita, who had experienced sexual abuse during childhood and was raped as an adult, explained that she would be “terrified” to access mixed-gender accommodation. In relation to the service here, it’s all women here – is that important to you? “Yeah, if you had men in it, I would be absolutely terrified, I wouldn’t want to stay in it if you brought men in because I don’t want to be around with other men, do you know what I mean?” (Rita, 53) As highlighted earlier, a large number of the women reported lengthy homeless histories, with over half reporting that they had experienced homelessness for a period of more than two years. Consequently, many had been cycling the service system for protracted periods and had extensive knowledge about the structures and regimes governing practically all of the available services. Indeed, the specific rules within individual hostels – in relation to, for example, curfews, substance use, forming friendships with other service users and visitation with partners, children and/or family members – appeared to significantly influence women’s movements between services. This was particularly the case for women whose children were not in their care and whose movements ‘in and out’ of hostels were often motivated by the desire to have more regular access to their children in environments they perceived to be safe and appropriate. “I can’t bring children up to the room in hostel or anything if they come and visit I have to walk the streets with them because I have nowhere to go. I have lost out on a lot of time with my kids over it.” (Dervla, 36) A large number of women had been ‘barred’ from one or more services due to breaking rules in relation to substance use, getting into conflict with other residents, and so on. In these cases, they either slept rough or presented to an alternative service. Perhaps significantly, some women deliberately engaged in rule-breaking in order to escape certain hostel settings: “I know by drinking you can’t come in hostel 1 and then you end up in hostel 2… I got myself barred twice just to get out of hostel 1, but I’d be able to get back down to hostel 2” (Roisín, 37). While negative experiences of service settings were frequently reported, particularly in relation to rules, some of the women indicated that they had benefited from the sense of safety and security provided by more rigid service structures. For example, a number recalled that they had been better able to manage, reduce or stabilise their substance use during periods spent in services that enforced strict rules in relation to the use of alcohol and/or drugs on the premises.
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
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