Women sleeping rough STILL missing from official homelessness figures, despite years of evidence

Charities found ten times more women sleeping rough than official counts, with 65% surviving in places government figures ignore.

Women sleeping rough are STILL excluded from official homelessness figures because government counting methods ignore how women survive homelessness, according to a major new national report published today.

The Women’s Rough Sleeping Census 2025: Missing Women, led by Single Homeless Project and Solace, alongside Crisis and Change Grow Live, found as many as ten times more women sleeping rough in some areas than official government snapshot counts identified.

Now in its fourth year, the census used a gender-informed methodology across 101 local authorities to build a more accurate picture of women’s rough sleeping and hidden homelessness. The findings show women are still being excluded from official homelessness figures because they survive in places official counts routinely overlook.

Nearly two thirds (65%) of women surveyed said they had slept in places excluded from official homelessness counts, including buses, A&E waiting rooms and public transport, or staying awake through the night to avoid violence, exploitation and sexual assault.

The report also found that across six local authorities, official government snapshot counts recorded zero women sleeping rough, while the Census identified 162 women sleeping rough in those same areas.

Other findings include: 

• 49% had walked around all night to avoid sleeping visibly  
• 27% had stayed with strangers or new acquaintances  
• 45% had been in some form of homelessness accommodation immediately before sleeping rough. This shows that current services often fail to meet women’s needs and aren’t enough to prevent them from sleeping rough. 
• 38% were not receiving support from either a housing officer or homelessness organisation.  

The findings come after four years of evidence showing women are being routinely missed because official counts are still built around visible, male “bedding down” patterns of rough sleeping, despite many women avoiding sleeping visibly to stay safe from violence and exploitation. They also show that women are not being helped by the services designed to support them. 

Lucy Campbell, Assistant Director for System Change at Single Homeless Project, said: “For four years, this census has shown the same thing: there are thousands more women sleeping rough in England than previously thought. Women are riding buses through the night, sitting in A&E waiting rooms and walking the streets until morning to stay safe, but because they are not bedding down visibly, too many are invisible in data.  

“The Government has pledged to reduce long term rough sleeping by half, but this cannot be achieved without an accurate starting point. The Women’s census shows there is a better way to count, understand and respond to women’s rough sleeping. The government now has an opportunity to make that the national standard.”

The report also found women’s homelessness is closely linked to violence against women and girls, domestic abuse, mental ill health, poverty and multiple disadvantage.

Rebecca Goshawk, Director of Business Development at Solace, said: “For years now, this evidence has shown that government counts put women at risk of violence and assault; we have said, time and again, that services do not meet the needs of women, but systems are yet to change. 

“Domestic abuse is the primary cause of women’s rough sleeping, making support in this area essential to the government’s promise to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade. Decision makers need to take action to fulfil their promises on women’s safety.”

Victoria, who lives in London and took part in the census said: “As a woman, I was often afraid to sleep, so I wouldn’t sleep at all, especially at night. 

“The minute men realised I was vulnerable and homeless, they would begin to offer me money to do things with them. I felt unsupported, alone and suicidal.

“The Women’s Rough Sleeping Census is crucial because there are a lot of women rough sleeping whose lives and safety are constantly at risk.” 

The coalition is calling on Government to replace outdated rough sleeping counts with a gender-informed national approach that properly reflects women’s experiences of homelessness. 

To make women’s homelessness visible and prevent more women falling through the cracks, the report sets out five key asks: 

1. Update the definition: Amend the 2010 government definition of rough sleeping so it reflects how women experience homelessness, including hidden, transient and less visible rough sleeping.  
2. Roll out the Census nationally: Fund and resource the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census across England, with clear guidance so every local authority can collect accurate, inclusive data and use it to shape policy, funding and services. 
3. Make services safe for women: Provide clear guidance and ringfenced funding so local authorities can deliver homelessness systems, supported accommodation and temporary accommodation that are safe, accessible and gender-informed.  
4. Make the National Plan work for women: Ensure every toolkit promised through the National Plan to End Homelessness, including prevention, outreach, complex needs and temporary accommodation, is gender-informed and tackles the barriers faced by women most likely to be missed.  
5. Act before women are forced into danger: Expand priority need to include survivors of rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation, update prevention guidance around VAWG, immigration status and homelessness, and collaborate with Women’s Rough Sleeping Census to understand and respond to women’s hidden homelessness. 

 The recommendations build on commitments already made within the Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness, including ending traditional rough sleeping “verification” practices that have historically prevented many women from accessing support.

Paula Barker MP, Co-Chair of the APPG for Ending Homelessness, said: “Women are not absent from our streets, they are absent from the data. For four years, this census has exposed the same dangerous blind spot: women experiencing homelessness are still being overlooked because official systems are not designed around the reality of women’s lives.

“We cannot end homelessness while continuing to ignore the women hiding in plain sight.” 

The report also highlights how local authorities using the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census methodology are already reshaping services for women. In Camden, census findings helped shape a more coordinated response to women experiencing rough sleeping, bringing together homelessness, mental health, substance use and violence against women and girls’ services to identify women who had previously been missed. The report says this gender-informed approach is helping local authorities build a more accurate picture of women’s homelessness and intervene earlier. 

Camden Council Cabinet Member for Better Homes and Homelessness Prevention, Cllr Anna Wright, said: “In Camden, we recognise that women experiencing homelessness are too often unseen, despite facing some of the most complex challenges. Participating in the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census since it began has helped us to better understand those challenges, to identify more women who are experiencing homelessness and to tailor the support we provide to them.

“It has also helped us to strengthen the specialist support we are providing for women through our Housing First service and dedicated women’s outreach, while also increasing the spaces we have available for women only in our accommodation services. As a result, more women in Camden are able to access the tailored, trauma-informed support they need to move away from homelessness and into safe and stable accommodation.”

Jasmine Basran, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Crisis, said: “Once again, this census lays bare that the homelessness system simply doesn’t work for women. Far too many women are being missed from official data and, as a result, are excluded from support and exposed to further abuse and violence – trapping them in a cycle with no easy way out.  

“With the Westminster government pledging to reduce long-term rough sleeping in their homelessness strategy last year, it’s crucial they commit to fully implementing the learnings from this census so that women aren’t shut out further from support. This is now a matter of urgency – we can’t let women experiencing homelessness be ignored any longer.” 

Nic Adamson, Deputy Chief Executive at Change Grow Live, said: “Year-on-year, the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census has identified concerning disparities between Government figures, and the true number of women sleeping rough, unidentified and invisible to decision makers. Women who are experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable in our society – but our findings show that too often, they are falling through the cracks. Now is the time for Government to listen to women’s experiences and to deliver the investment and focus required for support which recognises women’s unique needs. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we work together to build services that truly work for women.”

Table showing comparison between official government snapshot counts, Women’s Rough Sleeping Census and Local Insights meetings findings, including six local authorities where official counts recorded zero women.

How the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census is calculated: The Women’s Rough Sleeping Census uses a two-part method to get the most accurate picture possible. 

First, for one week, local councils and charities visit places where women are known to sleep rough and services they use, speak to them directly about their experiences and ask them to participate in a short, anonymised survey. This year, more than 1,406 women in 101 local authorities took part. 

The second part, coined ‘Local Insights meetings’, brings together records from a wide range of local services, including homelessness services, healthcare providers, and domestic abuse services. This helps make sure women who weren’t reached during the survey week but who are known to be sleeping rough can be included. Duplicates are removed, so if the same woman appears in more than one record, she’s only counted once. 2,969 recorded women were individually identified in the multi-agency Local Insights meetings across 42 local authorities. 

The 2025 Women’s Rough Census was led by Solace Women’s Aid and Single Homeless Project, with support from London Councils and the Greater London Authority to deliver the London Census. The census 2025 report was authored by Change Grow Live and Crisis. The census has taken place in 101 local authorities across the country, led locally by a range of local government and voluntary sector organisations.