Introduction
Domestic violence, in all its forms or modalities, is deeply connected to both unsheltered homelessness and unstable housing situations, particularly among women and families. Homelessness, as an overarching concept, denotes a diverse array of life circumstances, including people who endure both chronic and episodic exposure to the elements or rough sleep, as well as many who have only tenuous access to shelter. People who are literally homeless are those who exist in environments neither designed for nor ordinarily used for human habitation; those who primarily spend nights on the streets or in public spaces, vehicles, campsites, vacant buildings, or use emergency or congregant shelters are the most visible representation of unsheltered poverty and typify literal homelessness.
Not all people who lack consistent and stable access to a home fit into the rigidly defined parameters of literal homelessness. More expansive definitions would include non-stereotypical and...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Anderson, D. K., & Saunders, D. G. (2003). Leaving an abusive partner: An empirical review of predictors, the process of leaving, and psychological well-being. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 4(2), 163–191.
Baker, C. K., Cook, S. L., & Norris, F. H. (2003). Domestic violence and housing problems: A contextual analysis of women’s help-seeking, received informal support, and formal system response. Violence Against Women, 9(7), 754–783.
Baptista, I. (2010). Women and homelessness. Homelessness Research in Europe, 4(1), 163–185.
Bassuk, E. L., Buckner, J. C., Weinreb, L. F., Browne, A., Bassuk, S. S., Dawson, R., & Perloff, J. N. (1997). Homelessness in female-headed families: Childhood and adult risk and protective factors. American Journal of Public Health, 87(2), 241–248.
Browne, A., & Bassuk, S. S. (1997). Intimate violence in the lives of homeless and poor housed women: Prevalence and patterns in an ethnically diverse sample. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67(2), 261–278.
Calvo, F., Watts, B., Panadero, S., Giralt, C., Rived-Ocaña, M., & Carbonell, X. (2022). The prevalence and nature of violence against women experiencing homelessness: A quantitative study. Violence Against Women, 28(6–7), 1464–1482.
Embleton, L., Lee, H., Gunn, J., Ayuku, D., & Braitstein, P. (2016). Causes of child and youth homelessness in developed and developing countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(5), 435–444.
Giano, Z., Williams, A., Hankey, C., Merrill, R., Lisnic, R., & Herring, A. (2020). Forty years of research on predictors of homelessness. Community Mental Health Journal, 56(4), 692–709.
Jasinski, J. L., Wesely, J. K., Wright, J. D., & Mustaine, E. E. (2010). Hard lives, mean streets: Violence in the lives of homeless women. Northeastern University Press.
Koegel, P., Melamid, E., & Burnam, M. A. (1995). Childhood risk factors for homelessness among homeless adults. American Journal of Public Health, 85(12), 1642–1649.
Mullins, G. P. (1994). The battered woman and homelessness. Journal of Law and Policy, 3(1), 237–255.
Kushel, M. B., Evans, J. L., Perry, S., Robertson, M. J., & Moss, A. R. (2003). No door to lock: victimization among homeless and marginally housed persons. Archives of Internal Medicine, 163(20), 2492–2499.
Nyamathi, A., Wenzel, S. L., Lesser, J., Flaskerud, J., & Leake, B. (2001). Comparison of psychosocial and behavioral profiles of victimized and nonvictimized homeless women and their intimate partners. Research in Nursing and Health, 24(4), 324–335.
Pavao, J., Alvarez, J., Baumrind, N., Induni, M., & Kimerling, R. (2007). Intimate partner violence and housing instability. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(2), 143–146.
Postmus, J. L., Hoge, G. L., Breckenridge, J., Sharp-Jeffs, N., & Chung, D. (2020). Economic abuse as an invisible form of domestic violence: A multicountry review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 21(2), 261–283.
Riggs, D. S., Caulfield, M. B., & Street, A. E. (2000). Risk for domestic violence: Factors associated with perpetration and victimization. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(10), 1289–1316.
Shinn, M., Weitzman, B. C., Stojanovic, D., Knickman, J. R., Jimenez, L., Duchon, L., … Krantz, D. H. (1998). Predictors of homelessness among families in New York City: From shelter request to housing stability. American Journal of Public Health, 88(11), 1651–1657.
Sundin, E. C., & Baguley, T. (2015). Prevalence of childhood abuse among people who are homeless in Western countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50(2), 183–194.
Tutty, L. M., Ogden, C., Giurgiu, B., & Weaver-Dunlop, G. (2014). I built my house of hope: Abused women and pathways into homelessness. Violence Against Women, 19(12), 1498–1517.
Tyler, K. A., & Johnson, K. A. (2006). Trading sex: Voluntary or coerced? The experiences of homeless youth. Journal of Sex Research, 43(3), 208–216.
Watson, J. (2016). Gender-based violence and young homeless women: Femininity, embodiment and vicarious physical capital. Sociological Review, 64(2), 256–273.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ellsworth, J.T. (2023). Domestic Violence and Homelessness Among Women. In: Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Domestic Violence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85493-5_427-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85493-5_427-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-85493-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85493-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences