Women experience homelessness differently to men. The causes and experiences of homelessness are unique to each person, but gender plays an important role in shaping those experiences. Women are less likely to be visibly homeless often due to concerns for their safety and the very real risk of violence, meaning they are under-represented in rough sleeping statistics.
In this episode of the Going Beyond Podcast, we speak to Lucy Campell from Single Homeless Project, and Kathryn Parsons from Solace Women’s Aid about the women’s rough sleeping census. The census aims to collect more comprehensive data on women experiencing rough sleeping and seeks to improve support and provision for women by working directly with cross-sector services, outreach teams and policy makers on gender-informed practice. We discuss why it’s important to understand women’s experiences of rough sleeping, the purpose of the census, and the next steps needed to improve support for women.
The 2025 Women’s Census starts today, running from 22–28 September. For further information on the census, including how you can take part next year, please contact: womens.census@solacewomensaid.org
Listen to the episode below, or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And make sure you check out the full back catalogue of Going Beyond podcasts.