A new report, released this October in time for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, examines the dire choice women face between intimate partner abuse at home and systemic violence on the streets in San Francisco.
Jennifer Bolen is the coalition project manager for the San Francisco Women's Housing Coalition, and spoke with us about the landmark report, available here. The data comes at a critical time locally: HUD changes initiated under the Trump administration no longer require reporting on gender, and the City and County of San Francisco is simultaneously remaking contracting and procurement processes for services related to homelessness.
Key findings may help our city build a more Trump-proof, science & impact-driven system that actually serves women – if San Francisco’s leaders, government agencies, service providers, and communities read and apply it.
A Catch-22 and a Life of Loneliness
Bolen says the biggest shock of the report is how much housing is a catch-22 for women who have children. “If they have minor children not in their care,” Bolen explains, “It's difficult for them to get housing that would allow for them to have reunification with their children.” She pauses. “But it never stops them from being a mother.”
Often, Bolen explains, women who have children may qualify for housing that is inappropriate for reunification, and unless they have their children living with them, they also don’t qualify for the kind of housing that would be appropriate.
And for women without children, there are similar conundrums. They may not be able to bring a partner with them, or a companion animal. “It's like women have to choose a life of loneliness in order to get off the streets,” she says.
Overwhelming Link Between Experiencing Violence and Homelessness
For a while, we’ve known that domestic violence is a significant driver of homelessness for women and children in California. But this report is the first to tie it to San Francisco, compiling and analyzing a comprehensive survey and data from focus groups of over 400 women here in SF.
Damning Statistics
The research includes first-hand perspectives of women behind some horrifying statistics. By the numbers, we are failing to meet these women where they are.
57% of women named domestic violence as a cause of their homelessness, the most common cause reported, ahead of rent (50%), mental health challenges (49%), and job loss (45%)
Nearly 3 in 4 women (74%) experienced violence or abuse while unhoused, with half (50%) experiencing sexual violence
53% reported that they did not feel safe in shelters
91% of respondents have been homeless more than once, and 72% have experienced homelessness for more than three years
28% have minor children who are not in their care; among those women, 62% say housing is a barrier to reunification
But the anecdotes the report compiles give stories to this data.
One woman lived in an apartment with her mother and her partner. When he became violent, the woman left but her mother stayed behind. The woman chose to stay on the lease so her mother would have a place to live. But if your name is on a lease, you can be disqualified from accessing services.
There’s a shockingly common experience of violence and abuse while unhoused. According to the report, “One woman explained that she once paid a man she had met while homeless $40 to sleep in his room” so that she didn’t have to sleep on the street. He then sexually assaulted her.
In one co-ed shelter, a woman was raped by another person using the shelter. During the focus group, a facilitator asked what happened. The woman said that when she reported it, neither shelter staff nor police did anything.
Bolen explains that this makes it feel like it doesn’t matter if a woman can get into housing if she’s not safe there. “She escapes violence, and then she goes to the street, she faces more violence, she goes into shelter, faces more violence. And if she doesn't have any preventative measures…she's going to end up on the streets again.”
Staying Invisible
Because of these experiences, many women will try and hide their homelessness. They’ll couch surf, sleep in a vehicle, or even stay in an unsafe relationship in order to keep hidden.
This invisibility is particularly hard for mothers. One of the research participants brought her 12-month old to the Tenderloin focus group. She shared being made to feel unwelcome because she brought her child with her to shelters and drop-in centers. At one center, she was told to take her child into the bathroom when they cried; the bathroom wasn’t even properly equipped for mothers with babies.
If you’ve never been in a stall with a squirming crawler, you’ll know that you need to use the baby changing station, a plank that drops from the wall, and buckle your baby in before you can step back and use the toilet. According to the report, “the experience led this woman to acquire a tent where she could stay with her child, yet because she was sleeping in an area with known drug use, she was found to have endangered her child and lost custody.”
Gaps and Erasure
Because of the DEI rollbacks and changes to things like the PIT (Point in Time) count, we stand to have a lot less data to build policy from. But we do know that the fastest growing population experiencing homelessness is aging single women. Unlike groups such as veterans or HIV-positive people, this category is aging out on our streets nationwide but it’s virtually invisible.
“A woman without a family, a single woman, is having a harder time finding housing than if she were a veteran or HIV positive because these aren't specified populations that the city and the country look for when helping,” Bolen explains. And without data to inform decision makers, this population isn’t getting the basic asks that might change their trajectory and help them get out of a cycle of homelessness.
One simple example? Locks on doors. Or even having a door to begin with. Another? A little bit of extra time to shower. These are examples of operational changes that could help ensure a higher sense of safety for already-traumatized women. “While putting out these RFIs and RFPs for different providers, if we can have safety built into this, then we don't have to keep adding it on ad hoc,” Bolen says.
For women who are immigrants without documentation, the fear of exposure increases economic dependence on abusers. And women who perform precarious labor, like jobs that are paid under the table, have low wages, or are otherwise informal jobs, are at more risk because they lack protective buffers against housing loss. Formerly incarcerated women have additional barriers, be it in finding a job that accommodates a surprise court date or visit with a social worker getting scheduled, or in adjusting to life outside the cell when some have only experienced adulthood behind bars.
All of these women are especially hard to tally because their situations make them shrink. Thanks to the report, their experiences are now documented and amplified.
What’s Next
When women were asked to imagine a home, their dreams were practical and modest: a lock on the door, a garden, being with family. Many just want to live somewhere with others: “The most common response to this question named family, friends or ‘good company’ (over 100 replies).” But even before that, there are practical things that can be implemented.
The opportunity to share and processes experiences in a gender specific space is something that women want. This is a simple and low-cost supportive measure that only requires space, and staff who will facilitate discussion, drive women to the space if necessary, and spread the word. The enthusiasm and gratitude for the focus groups was overwhelming.
City leaders will convene on October 29th to translate both the qualitative and quantitative report data into municipal action. “We knew that women’s experiences needed to be documented more fully,” says Rebecca Jackson, the co-chair of the SF Women’s Housing Coalition. “Not just to demonstrate the scale of the problem, but to understand what women face, where systems fall short, and what needs to change.”
