Our submission applies a gender lens and demonstrates the need for equitable access to housing for women and their children.
Gender norms, socialisation, roles, differentials in power relations and access to and control over resources are all structural and social factors which contribute to health outcomes. Gender is a key social determinant of health and wellbeing, contributing to risk factors for homelessness and housing instability among women.
We argue that the policy platform for affordable housing should be more engaged with health and social policy, rather than development policy and the needs of developers. These factors include family violence, gendered discrimination, disability, and mental health and wellbeing. The issues and recommendations outlined in this submission recognise and respond to the unique experiences of women and gender diverse people.
These include:
- Single parent mother discrimination.
- Older women as a most at-risk demographic of experiencing homelessness.
- Gender pay gap and its contribution to gendered housing discrimination and homelessness.
- Investment in culturally safe services for marginalised groups.
- Housing to be recognised as a gendered issue.
- Lack of culturally safe services in community to keep Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD)
women out of poverty. - Best practice early intervention and prevention programs to prevent the criminalisation of
homelessness. - Family violence as a key driver of homelessness.
- Mental health as a leading cause of homelessness.