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Homelessness and Domestic Violence |
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Monday, 16 November 2009 12:24 |
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Domestic violence is both a reason why many women become homeless and a reason why people who are being abused do not leave their abuser. Sometimes women become homeless after fleeing from their abuser. Other times they are evicted because of the abuse. Some landlords have “zero tolerance” policies that penalize victims of domestic violence and evict a tenant if violence occurs in her apartment, even if she was the victim of the violence.
- A 2003 survey of homeless mothers around the country found that one quarter had been physically abused within the past year.
- 13 percent of homeless families cited abuse or violence in the household as the reason they left their last place of residence.
- Almost 50% of homeless women in San Diego, California, reported being victims of domestic violence.
- About 50% of families in the mainstream homeless shelter system in Washington, DC have experienced domestic violence.
- A 2005 survey of 76 legal and social services providers around the country found that 28% of all housing denials handled by these advocates, and 11% of all evictions, resulted from domestic violence against the tenant.
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