'True number of women sleeping rough could be ten times higher than official estimates'
11 women were recently found in a Devon squat - before it was closed down - with a charity suggesting they were doing it for safety reasons
A Devon charity says the number of women who are homeless here could be up to ten times higher than official estimates - as many are too scared to sleep on the streets.
In Torbay 11 women were recently found living together in a squat - with charities like PATH, or People Assisting Torbay's Homeless, saying it’s understandable as women can put themselves at greater risk having to rely on people for temporary accommodation.
Founder Kath Friedrich said: "A squat was shut down just a couple of weeks ago and there were 12 people found in that squat before the police shut it down and 11 of those were women - obviously because they felt safer in numbers."
Kath says the squat needed to be shut down as it was a potential fire risk but it resulted in the women 'fleeing' and now it's unclear what happened to them.
The homeless charity founder says women know they could be preyed upon if found on the streets and so can end up at the mercy of anyone offering short-term accommodation, adding: "They can ask for favours that nobody has a right to ask for."
Kath says while female homelessness could be considered a 'hidden problem' the warning signs are there if public agencies were purposefully looking.
She said: "Sometimes the women are forced into things like stealing to order, shoplifting - and that's usually these days that seems to me the only way that they can find out where these women are."
Kath says she's frustrated that little help is offered to potentially vulnerable women when they come into contact with public bodies and the annual council-led census fails to fully appreciate the true number - as it follows a prescribed route once a year.
The third national Women’s Rough Sleeping Census, published today by Solace and Single Homeless Project alongside Crisis and Change Grow Live, reveal that government figures dramatically underestimate the number of women sleeping rough.
The report, How Do We Sleep at Night? published today recommends that the Government develops a specific chapter on women's homelessness. Amanda Wright, Director of Service Development at St Petrocs in Cornwall said:
“Women experience homelessness. and the risk of it, in very different and often hidden ways. Many find themselves stuck in unsafe situations and may not feel safe or confident enough to reach out for support. Right now, there simply aren’t enough gender-specific services to meet their needs. What’s urgently needed are safe, trauma-informed spaces that truly understand their experiences and provide the right care. We believe no one should be overlooked, and everyone deserves the chance to have a safe, secure place to call home."
• The Government is not looking in the right places - Many of the locations where women spend the night are not classified as ‘rough sleeping’ in the Government’s snapshot counts, such as A&E departments, libraries, or public transport. This means over half (54%) of women reported sleeping rough in the types of public spaces that would not have been included in official data collection and therefore unlikely to receive support from outreach teams.
• Accommodation services aren’t designed for women’s needs - One third of respondents (37%) reported that they had been in some form of homelessness accommodation before sleeping rough. This shows that current services often fail to meet women’s needs and aren’t enough to prevent them from sleeping rough.
• Services aren’t joined up - Homelessness services aren’t set up to reach women. 77% weren’t getting support from a housing officer or council housing team, 43% weren’t in touch with a homelessness service, and a third weren’t accessing either. Even when women do engage with other services - like drug and alcohol support - those services are often not equipped to help with homelessness.
Lucy Campbell, Head of Multiple Disadvantage at Single Homeless Project, said: “We can’t keep failing women. Nine in ten sleeping rough are simply not being seen or counted. That’s not just a statistic, it’s a systemic failure. The government now has a real opportunity to change this. A national approach to women’s homelessness isn’t optional, it’s essential. It would give local authorities the tools they need to stop women falling through the cracks and start delivering the solutions women need and deserve.”
Jasmine Basran, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Crisis, said: “Women are falling through the cracks of our homelessness system. From the way we provide services to the way we determine how many people are actually sleeping on the streets, the current approach lacks nuance and doesn’t fully consider that many women experience homelessness differently to men. Women are being excluded from support and exposed to harm when services fail to recognise that they’re sleeping rough. We also hear from women how they don’t feel safe with some of the support on offer as it doesn’t account for specific experiences, such as fleeing domestic abuse. As the government prepares their strategy to end homelessness, it’s crucial they include a specific chapter on this issue to ensure women get the specialist support they need to leave homelessness behind.”
In response the Government said: “We inherited devastating levels of homelessness and rough sleeping and know women can be particularly affected, including those who are victims of violence and abuse. That’s why we are taking urgent and decisive action to end homelessness, by providing £1 billion for crucial homelessness services this year so councils can support people faster.”
They added: "We also recognise that the methodology adopted in the rough sleeping annual snapshot may be less likely to capture the sleeping patterns of women experiencing rough sleeping due to the hidden nature. We welcome the approach of the women’s census to help reach more women sleeping rough.
"As a first step to improving our data, we have included a new question on gender in the Rough Sleeping Monthly Management Information, to inform our ongoing policy development and help support local areas understand the needs of their rough sleeping population.
"We have increased funding for homelessness services by £233 million this year, including the largest ever investment in homelessness prevention services which will bring total spend on homelessness and rough sleeping in England to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.
"We are also addressing the use of emergency accommodation, including B&Bs, for homeless families, through launching a new program of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £8 million. We are working with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives."