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

1. WOMEN & Children: rough sleepers & HOMELESSNESS in the euworld family summit: berlin 5TH DECEMBER2013 With Financial Support from the DAPHNE III Programme of the European Union

2. “The cure for poverty has a name in fact, it is called the empowerment of women”Christopher Hitchens • Empowering Women Rough Sleepers (WRS) to Protect themselves from Violence • Children Rough Sleepers (CRS) who are Runaways, Homeless and Victims of Violence on the Streets

3. Research into women who sleep rough phase Iwww.womenroughsleepers.eu/ Moss, K., Singh, P., & Wright, M. (2013) Women Rough Sleepers and Domestic Violence: A European Study. Policy Press (forthcoming) • 70 – 100% homeless as a result of DV in the UK, Sweden, Hungary and Spain • Problem of comorbidity • Little / no women only provision • Invisibility / lack of engagement with outreach

4. Methodologies: • Our research is shaped by “Grounded Theory” and “Ethnographic Qualitative Interviewing.’ • Glaser & Strauss (1967) & Strauss (1992) • Carried out in the UK, Hungary and Slovenia • Extent and nature of violence against homeless / roofless women • Measure & tackle it including examples of best practice • Empowerment of women • Education and the role of families

5. First impressions: UK WRS • Women with children likely to be prioritised • More at risk from certain causes of homelessness /hidden homelessness / invisible homelessness or rooflessness • Long waiting times for benefits • 1 in 10 homeless in the UK are women • Reduction in services targeted at women • Only one project for sex workers in the UK • Methods of counting flawed & inconsistent • Some work with empowerment ongoing

6. First impressions: Slovenian wrs • No official acknowledgement of the problem of homeless / roofless / rough sleeping women • Family specific problems, including; • Specific problems for older women who are widowed • Specific problems for younger women who become homeless as a result of abuse

7. First impressions: hungarianwrs • October 2013 homeless clearance policy framed within the Hungarian Constitution based on the Hungarian Social Act 2011 • Illegal to remove unwanted items from the street • World Heritage sites ban • Politically disenfranchised due to voting restrictions

8. The ongoing criminalisation of poverty and homelessness • UK – clearance takes place using the Vagrancy Act 1824 • Impact upon citizenship rights • Criminal offence to sleep on the street or to beg • Social exclusion should be tackled at its root causes not by criminalisation • Merely compounds the problem and frustrates the work of support agencies • Emphasises the need for recognition that root causes lie within families, the empowerment of women and an agenda to leave no-one behind.

9. The continuing problem of wrs in europe • It is a social problem inextricably linked to poverty • Social stigma is one of the main barriers to finding solutions • Women are particularly vulnerable; problems of comorbidity; invisibility; lack of engagement; victims of abuse but do not define themselves as such • Require distinct intervention, female only provision & access to services • http://www.womenroughsleepers2.eu/

10. Children rough sleepers Partnership UK Netherlands Poland Hungary Portugal Slovenia Czech Republic Spain Romania

11. CRS first impressions: romania • No efficient, systematic or comprehensive compilation of data for under 18 year olds producing either underestimates or exaggerations of the numbers of street children in Romania • Increases in addiction to drugs, alcohol & lack of awareness of the problems caused by these negative behaviours • Lack of equal opportunities and discrimination

12. CRS first impressions: netherlands • CRS have negative experiences with child protection • Role of the trusted adult is crucial • Dysfunctional families are main risk factor • Amongst boys prevalence of developmental disorders eg; ADHD • Professionals feel policies ineffective • Lack of training / acknowledgment of the need for training

13. Crs first impressions: poland • Explicit social problems and pathologies affecting families is the main cause of child homelessness • Alcohol is a major factor • Majority of children expressed that if the family functioned normally their situations would not have occurred.

14. The european angle FEANTSA Report on Youth Homelessness: Prague November 2013 1. Increases in youth homelessness: UK 12%, Denmark 50%, Ireland 43%, Hungary 36%, Czech Rep 38% 2. Profiles of the homeless are changing 3. Pathways into homelessness mirror our findings 4. Ineffective discharges from institutional care https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3g0jtuNMDE Recommendations: More housing options especially for those released from youth care Access to adapted employment schemes DO NOT criminalise homelessness

15. Open letter to the eu commissioner 25 november 2013 • Develop a strategy and policy guidance to better tackle homelessness • Within the context of the SIP, a roadmap for the implementation of this strategy with thematic priorities • Promotion of transnational exchanges, training and research, social experimentation and access to structural funds. • A call to the EC to develop this strategy to help Member States make real progress in confronting homelessness by 2020.

16. The key messages • Awareness raising of the casual factors: domestic violence, dysfunctional families, social problems, family pathologies • Education and empowerment of women and children • Awareness raising of increasing women and children’s homelessness • Tackling ineffective post institutional resettlement • “Leave no one behind” • “Universal primary education and promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women”

17. If you can help us and be involved in this research by sharing your knowledge and experiences please contact: Professor Kate Moss K.Moss@wlv.ac.uk Paramjit Singh P.Singh6@wlv.ac.uk Thank You !