The 2024 Women’s Rough Sleeping Census Report (WRSC) has revealed that there could be 10 times more women sleeping rough in England than official counts suggest. The report also identified 200% more women sleeping rough in Oxfordshire compared to the government’s annual rough sleeping snapshot.
Developed in 2022 by Solace Women’s Aid and Single Homelessness Project (SHP), the WRSC is tailored to the behaviours of women who sleep rough. By going beyond traditional data capture methods, which require people to be seen ‘bedded down or about to bed down’ on a designated night, the census aims to provide more robust estimates on the scale of women’s rough sleeping.
The 2024 census took place over a seven day period through gender-informed outreach shifts with teams visiting A&E departments, night buses, train stations and public toilets – locations where many women seek refuge at night to avoid danger. This year, 88 local authorities took part, including Oxfordshire.
Key findings from the 2024 report
The findings from the report confirm what frontline services and charities have long suspected: women are more likely to be ‘hidden homeless’, avoiding visible sleeping spots due to the threat of violence, exploitation and abuse. They also highlight that current systems and services are not meeting the needs of many women who are experiencing homelessness.
- 1,014 women were identified as having slept rough in the previous three months across 88 local authority areas implementing the WRSC survey.
- Almost three quarters (73%) of respondents reported sleeping on the street.
- 365 women reported they had been in homelessness accommodation prior to sleeping rough, meaning homelessness accommodation continues to be unsuitable for women’s needs.
- 24% of the women reported staying with a stranger or new acquaintance, which clearly places them at risk of harm.
- 54% of women reported sleeping in a place that would not have been included in traditional snapshot counts of rough sleeping
- 43% of women were not accessing support from homelessness services.
Avoiding violence and exploitation
Alongside valuable data, the report includes stark insights from the women surveyed about their own experiences of rough sleeping and homelessness. Many had fled domestic violence and were avoiding mixed-gender hostels or sleeping outside, choosing instead to ride buses overnight, stay in 24-hour fast-food restaurants or sleep in hospital waiting rooms. The fear of harm kept them out of sight, and out of official counts.
“It’s disgusting how many men approach women pressuring them to do sex work or offer a £1 cheeseburger if you bend over in the alley way for 15 minutes. I’ve woken up to men touching/stroking my body saying: ‘It’s okay, I have £50′”
“Rough sleeping is very scary as a woman alone. Threats of sexual violence; to take things away from you. If finding a group to sleep rough as a woman, you have to offer something for safety, i.e. share what you have: money, drugs or sex.”
Action is needed now
The Government’s new homelessness and rough sleeping strategy is expected to be released in late summer/autumn 2025. The 2024 WRSC report recommends that this strategy should address the following five points:
- Adopt a gender-informed definition of rough sleeping and homelessness more broadly.
- Provide local authorities with tools, resources and guidance on gathering accurate and inclusive data on women’s rough sleeping and homelessness.
- Provide guidance and funding to enable local authorities to ensure services and systems are equitable, accessible and safe for women.
- Develop cross-sector strategies and funding programmes that enable women to access housing and support no matter where in the system they present.
- Invest in new approaches to ensure that women are provided with information and resources to prevent and resolve their own homelessness and can access support as soon as they need it.
Why it matters
The underrepresentation and misunderstanding of women’s homelessness directly impacts their access to housing and support. Without visibility, these women will continue to fall through the cracks and remain at risk of serious harm.
A gender-informed and cross-sector approach to the homelessness and rough sleeping strategy will lead to better outcomes for women, including investment in women-only housing and trauma-informed support.
As Paula Barker MP, Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ending Homelessness, says: “We cannot ever hope to end rough sleeping if we are not even able to assess the scope of the problem to begin with.”
Our response? Her Way Home.
The results from the 2024 census further strengthen our mission to provide housing, healing and hope to more women experiencing homelessness in Oxfordshire. With your help, we will purchase a new property and employ dedicated staff so we can offer safe women-only housing and trauma-informed support to twice as many women.
