Online access is now Free. If you have an existing subscription click here for more information
Off the radar
Published 01 January 2024
Homeless women are being exploited by pimps and drug dealers, and hidden from the services set up to help them, as they seek shelter from the dangers of sleeping rough, says Gayle Jones
Homeless women are placing themselves at risk in their efforts to avoid sleeping rough – bedding down in abandoned properties, sleeping on strangers’ sofas or lulled into the false security of a crackhouse.
They are the hidden homeless, for whom sleeping rough holds extra dangers. But avoiding it requires money and many enter into the dangerous world of selling sex to fund a life away from the streets. They rely on drugs to cope – and their vulnerability leads to a dependence on partners who exploit the relationships for monetary gain, coercing the women into increasingly risky sex work.
Manipulated by partners, who may also be their pimp or drug dealer, the women are often unable to foresee the consequences of these abusive relationships and find themselves subject to their partners’ violence and sexual assault.
Forced to sell sex to fund their own and other people’s costly drug habits, they are exposed to greater danger in the hunt for higher returns, such as being coerced to have sex without condoms.
The number of women facing this plight is higher than official figures suggest. Rough sleepers bedding down in public areas with sleeping bags and cardboard mattresses are visible and can be reached. These homeless women are hidden from the services designed to support their move from vulnerability to safe accommodation and primary services.
St Mungo’s is trying to turn this tide. We engage homeless crack-using sex workers, providing specialist accommodation for women who are vulnerably housed or displaced because of crackhouse closures.
When St Mungo’s started providing accommodation to such women, we became aware of high levels of mistrust of the support services. This seemed to be due to a lack of access in the past to service provision. Many had previous contact with specialist outreach services, but were unknown to workers dealing with rough sleepers, whose job is to find ways of linking them into the system of temporary and permanent accommodation.
Difficulties remain for such women wanting to access provision – and continued efforts are needed to verify their status as rough sleepers even after they have been accommodated.
We have put in place a tiered system of accommodation that takes into account these difficulties. The first stage is to engage with the women, providing short-term, emergency accommodation and assessment services.
The focus is on building relationships with the women to reduce the harm associated with their drug use and sex work. This includes general advice about risks as well as access to treatment to reduce drug use and improve physical health.
We can assess individual clients’ housing and support needs and offer a comprehensive service designed to build self-esteem and optimism alongside the progress toward exiting sex work and substance use.
Work beyond this is in development, but aims to support women moving into more independent accommodation. They will live in self-contained flats, enabling them to take increasing responsibility for their own lives and progress.
At a recent planning day with clients, they overwhelmingly expressed the view that they want ‘a safe place a community with opportunities for all to live, learn, grow and progress’. This is the service we are aiming to provide.
Gayle Jones is south and west regional manager, St Mungo’s substance use team.
