It needs to be recognised that the needs of homeless women differ from the needs of homeless men and that, if homeless women are not physically and emotionally safe, then they are vulnerable to further abuse, which compounds the problems they already face. The service provided a safety net where women could access a safe place to stay, food and a respite from the men in their lives.
Press release issued 16 December 2010 Bristol needs to provide a dedicated night shelter for homeless women, according to a new report by researchers from the University's School for Policy Studies. The review of the Women's Night Service, a six-month pilot project that provided emergency accommodation to vulnerable homeless women, recommends that the city provide the Service on a permanent basis. It is not possible to say with any accuracy how many homeless women there are in Bristol, since many stay with friends or in mixed accommodation rather than risk the dangers of sleeping rough. The root causes of women becoming homeless often include abuse and violence from families, partners or people they meet, together with drug and alcohol dependencies and street sex work. Women who took part in a survey conducted by the researchers identified 'a safe place to stay' as their most immediate need, followed by 'help finding somewhere to live' and 'something to eat'. They expressed concerns about their physical, sexual and mental safety when sleeping rough or in emergency shelters shared with men, which are potentially more dangerous that sleeping rough because women are in a minority among men. Apart from dedicated domestic-violence services, there are now no emergency women-only services in Bristol to which women can self-refer and there is currently no emergency dedicated female-only accommodation in Bristol.
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