Women’s rough sleeping is often transient, intermittent and hidden.
To stay safe, women on the streets will often stay hidden. Hidden from the dangers of being visible on the streets, but also hidden from the outreach and homelessness services they desperately need and deserve.
It means existing statistics significantly underestimate significantly the number of women who are rough sleeping. Existing data collection methods have been developed without women’s experiences in mind, so fail to capture the true scale of the issue.
Our census aims to change that. The census was been designed to improve understanding of the extent and nature of women’s rough sleeping, using gender-informed data collection to evidence the scale of women’s rough sleeping, and the need for better integration between homelessness and VAWG services and sectors.
In October 2022, we designed, planned and coordinated a Pan-London women’s rough sleeping census, alongside a coalition of leading homelessness and VAWG charities. This was the first such project of its kind.
The most recent census was conducted in September 2023 across 41 local authorities across London and England, in partnership with Solace.
No woman should have to sleep rough and endure the devastating consequences of life on the streets.
Up to nine times as many women rough sleeping than Government data suggests. Read more
We rely on local services and councils to conduct this essential piece of work. Find out how you can be involved in our 2024 census. Read more
Our report, ‘Making Women Count,’ sets out the key findings and lessons from the first-of-its-kind 2022 census of women sleeping rough in London. Read more