Women suffering from domestic violence are not only victims of abuse, they are also victims of silence, victims of indifference and victims of neglect. They are not helpless and weak, but they are often let down.21
This report has investigated the issue of women, domestic and family violence and homelessness, with a specific mandate to investigate the support and particular housing models that best assist women in violence related homelessness. The research synthesised the relevant literature and involved targeted interviews with selected service providers, peak women’s domestic and family violence and homelessness groups, and client representatives across Australia to understand the challenges facing the sector and any new issues being encountered.
The consultations undertaken for this research revealed the difficulties in the sector, in terms of lack of funding and capacity for crisis accommodation, for moving women into safe and affordable long-term housing, and for the provision of a continuum of care and support. Crisis services for women escaping domestic and family violence are currently in crisis themselves. Such services are under increasing strain and require additional resources to maintain services at existing levels. A review of SAAP IV in 2004 noted that ‘it is apparent that the total number of homeless people in Australia has remained fairly constant for most of the past ten years’ (Erebus Consulting Partners 2004a, p. 4) and that ‘the overall situation at present appears to be that, whilst services to the homeless have moderate success in responding to the immediate homeless crises, the current forms of assistance to the homeless are poor at resolving longer-term issues’ (Erebus Consulting Partners 2004b, p. 136). Part of the reason for this is ‘perversely the very existence of the homeless assistance system encourages mainstream systems to shift the cost and responsibility for helping the most vulnerable to the homeless assistance system’ (National Alliance to End Homelessness 2003, p. 4).
Meeting accommodation needs is not the only solution to addressing violence related homelessness. However, the current housing crisis in Australia – and the fact that private housing is more unaffordable than at any other time since affordability has been measured – makes housing a more important part of the picture than it has been in the past.
The sector clearly needs more resources to address the increasing numbers of women affected by domestic violence, and particularly in terms of providing permanent housing options. Much of the problem with the current system is the lack of exit points from crisis and transitional accommodation – ‘no room at the inn’. These exit points are needed across tenures, and particularly in social housing (public and community housing) and in affordable private rental housing. The National Rental Affordability Scheme has a clear role to fulfil here. As one of the cornerstones of the Government’s programs to address housing affordability, a proportion of the proposed 50,000 properties to be developed over the term of this Scheme (we propose two per cent or 1,000 properties as a minimum in the first instance) should be assigned to women affected by domestic and family violence. There should be a further increase in the number of properties targeted to women affected by domestic and family violence depending on need, as more properties become available and if the program is successful in terms of providing affordable housing for low-income Australians and families and is expanded to include a second round. It would also be useful if the National Rental Affordability Scheme included a central register of available properties to assist housing workers with finding accommodation for their clients.
If the Government is serious about alleviating homelessness then an adequate supply of social housing must be provided and maintained by Governments. Social housing is clearly the best housing option for women escaping domestic and family violence, providing safe, secure and guaranteed affordable housing. Both public and community housing options are needed, as these options suit different groups of women, and provide additional housing options for women.
Consultations with the domestic and family violence sector revealed a cautious optimism that after some twelve years of severe under-resourcing, and despite continuing high levels of unmet demand in SAAP services, something might actually be done. This said, service providers were very concerned that the current Government does not rush into rolling out particular strategies to address violence related homelessness just ‘to get runs on the board’. They were very vocal in putting forth their opinion that there is no one accommodation and support solution to violence related homelessness for women and children. However, integrated approaches to addressing domestic and family violence, such as those in Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT are held up by the sector and in the literature as examples of best practice. These approaches are considered best practice because they provide a continuum of care and support for women, however, the aforementioned lack of exit points into permanent housing and at the time most appropriate for the client is restricting the effectiveness of these approaches. The Federal Government needs to play an ongoing role in ensuring that these approaches to domestic and family violence are adequately funded. Funding must also extend to providing outreach support and support that is both individualised and open-ended.
Funding children as clients of these services in their own right – which does not occur now – is also needed. Children are the voiceless and often ignored victims of domestic and family violence, and exposure to such violence impacts on the social and psychological development of children. Children exposed to violence within the family home are more likely to be future victims and perpetrators of violence of all types. Assisting children from violent homes, as well as educating all children about respect for others and building healthy inter-personal relationships, are key strategies for breaking the cycle of violence in the community. Governments must direct attention and resources to programs to educate children of all ages about domestic and family violence as a priority. This education must of course be age appropriate.
Representatives of the domestic and family violence sector are also keen to move beyond just pilot or experimental programs and for significant and ongoing investment to be directed to the sector and into programs that have proven rates of success.
Consultation with the sector highlighted the fact that past recommendations in both Chung et al (2000) and Weeks and Oberin (2004) are still what the sector endorses and what the sector needs. These recommendations have received little or no attention from Government. The recommendations are the preferred way forward for the sector. The recommendations are attached to this report as Appendices B and C.
Three specific ways of assisting women with their accommodation stood out in the consultations and literature as an effective means of meeting the safety and security needs of women and children affected by domestic and family violence. These programs, however, are not universal in their applicability. This is because women (and children) affected by domestic and family violence are not a homogenous group and have many and diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Staying safely at home, for example, will only ever work for those women who choose this option and for whom it has been determined that this is a low risk and safe option. This option will never have broad applicability and will require additional resources for security measures. The Federal Government could clearly assist here by resourcing a national fund for improving the physical security of homes for women. Implementing safe at home initiatives in a widespread fashion will also require a recasting of past thoughts (and community education and expectations) around how women escaping domestic and family violence are assisted, with resources for outreach support to assist women in their homes and adequate resources to develop the partnerships necessary for the successful functioning of these programs. The Federal Government should also assist here by funding specialist domestic violence officers within State and Territory police forces (say five in each jurisdiction) and within courts to provide information about necessary processes such as putting in place exclusion orders for the perpetrators of violence.
[ top ]
Safe houses and cooling off spaces are an important and culturally appropriate measure for assisting Indigenous women fleeing family violence. The literature and consultations for this project indicate that these programs are playing an important role within the Indigenous communities that have such facilities, as they allow women to stay within their own communities, on their land and near kinship networks. The success of these programs is shaped by, and dependent on, such services being community-driven and ‘owned’ by communities. The success of these services is also dependent on the support and commitment to these facilities by a range of players within the communities/regions, such as police, courts and social services. These programs are also most effective and efficient when staffed by Indigenous people. As with the other housing and support initiatives discussed in this report, safe houses and cooling off spaces are severely underfunded for the essential tasks they perform within communities. The Federal Government should provide Specific Purpose Payment funding for these services outside SAAP or attached to funding for Indigenous programs generally. If the Federal Government is committed to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians as they have widely indicated, and as family violence and abuse are endemic problems in Indigenous communities, safe houses and cooling off spaces are an important part of a range of programs to address family violence that must be implemented immediately, more widely and with appropriate levels of funding.
The literature reviewed for this project also identified the Housing First model operating in some states of the US, in Canada and South Australia as another highly successful housing and support model appropriate for women and children. This model, as its name suggests, is structured around placing people into permanent housing with some level of security of tenure first and foremost, with an extensive range of individualised support then wrapped around clients as is needed. It has been widely successful in delivering positive outcomes for people with complex and multiple needs, and particularly for those who have a life history of homelessness, and for women escaping domestic violence. Housing First programs have widespread support in North America, from all levels of Government, community organisations, churches and philanthropists. This model has great applicability to the Australian situation, particularly if the Federal Government’s proposed review of the Australian Taxation system is used to also investigate how philanthropists can be more widely encouraged to support such initiatives.
A number of other important factors must also be addressed in looking at the issue of women, domestic and family violence and homelessness. The first of these is the need to review income support levels for women affected by domestic and family violence. Poverty and lack of an independent income are critical factors in the vulnerability of women to homelessness. Securing and maintaining private housing on a statutory income is almost impossible in the current environment. Related to the income support issue is the need to extend Centrelink’s Crisis Payments to be a six month support payment for women affected by domestic violence. The current Crisis Payment structure is completely inadequate given the immediacy of needs of women affected by domestic violence. A review of the level of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) paid to private tenants is also clearly needed, particularly if CRA is to be maintained by Government as the major housing assistance program in Australia. There seems also to be need here to investigate other methods of improving affordability in the private rental market; a point reinforced in the YWCA’s submission to the Homelessness Green Paper (YWCA 2008).
In discussing the issue of women affected by domestic and family violence and in violence related homelessness, it should be noted that sustaining women affected by domestic and family violence safely in their home or in an appropriate, affordable and safe home must be part of any solution to address violence related homelessness – as it must be for women generally (see Tually, Beer & Faulkner 2007; Tually 2008a). Some women affected by domestic and family violence will need longer term support to re-establish their lives, and those of their children, post-violence. This support needs to include additional assistance with housing costs for some women, as well as therapeutic assistance, counselling, support to develop life and employment skills and assistance to purchase basic necessities such as household furniture. Providing additional brokerage funds to the domestic and family violence sectors will ensure that women (and their children) have access to these and other types of necessary supports.
Given the declining number of social housing properties in Australia – the housing option considered the most appropriate for many women affected by domestic and family violence – investigating programs and measures assisting women with their housing longer-term must also be a policy priority. The Household Organisational Management Expenses (HOME) Advice Program stands out as a program to assist women with their financial and housing situation longer-term. And, given the results of the recent evaluation of the program (MacKenzie, Desmond & Steen 2007) and the success the program has had in preventing homelessness among participants (many of whom are single mothers affected by domestic violence), this program should be expanded and rapidly rolled out across the country. The previously mentioned Family Violence Private Rental Brokerage Program being offered by Domestic Violence Outreach Services in some locations in Victoria presents another possible model for assistance – albeit likely only short-term. This program was widely praised by the domestic violence services contacted in Victoria.
Other mortgage assistance measures – such as low-cost loans, low deposit loans and shared equity arrangements 22 also clearly have a role to play here – particularly for women able to stay safely at home and who need to re-finance to afford to keep their home or for women who are able to afford to purchase a home and sustain home ownership. More affordable loan products and ownership arrangements are offered by some State Governments in Australia and most notably through HomeStart Finance in SA and through Keystart in WA.23 Shared equity products, however, are relatively new in Australia and as such we know little about their effectiveness, benefits and drawbacks. Research is needed that examines the effectiveness of these types of loans and programs, and whether they are appropriate for women who are vulnerable in the housing market, including for women affected by domestic and family violence on low/moderate incomes, women with disabilities in this situation and for single mothers.
Finally, it should be re-iterated here that there is no one solution to addressing domestic and family violence and domestic and family violence related homelessness. Provision of a continuum of individualised and open-ended supports, including a range of safe, affordable, accessible and secure accommodation options and appropriate exit points from crisis accommodation, is needed to meet the diverse needs of the many women (and the children) from many backgrounds affected by domestic and family violence, and especially for those who end up homeless because of violence.