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Women’s Rough Sleeping Is a Crisis We Can’t Keep Ignoring

Women’s Rough Sleeping Is a Crisis We Can’t Keep Ignoring

Women’s Rough Sleeping Is a Crisis We Can’t Keep Ignoring

Monday, March 16, 2026 - 9:53:33 AM until

Women experiencing homelessness in Leeds are not “hard to reach” — they are systematically overlooked. The 2025 Leeds Women’s Rough Sleeping Census makes that impossible to deny. On International Women’s Day, when the world talks about equity, safety, and opportunity, the census shows exactly where those promises are breaking down for women in our city.

The census reveals women walking all night to stay safe, sleeping in 24‑hour spaces, relying on strangers, or staying in exploitative situations because safer options simply don’t exist. Many had slept rough the night before being surveyed. These are not edge cases — they are the pattern.

“It’s very dangerous for a woman. It only takes one man.” – a woman surveyed in the 2025 census

Women told us they need:

  • Safety first — women‑only spaces, clean environments, and staff they can trust
  • Stability — permanent homes, not nightly placements
  • Support that matches reality — mental health care, substance use support, financial advice
  • Flexibility — pet‑friendly options, fewer barriers, clearer pathways
  • Connection — community, belonging, and consistent relationships

These aren’t “nice to haves”. They are the minimum required for recovery and dignity.

Frontline Workers See the System Cracks Every Day

“I am scared of shared houses not being safe for women.” – a woman surveyed in the 2025 census

Practitioners across Leeds described a landscape where women’s needs are rising faster than the system can respond:

  • outreach stretched thin
  • mental health and substance use services overwhelmed
  • rigid housing rules blocking access
  • unsafe mixed‑gender accommodation
  • fragmented pathways that leave women cycling between crisis points

Yet they also highlighted real progress: stronger partnerships, more trauma‑informed practice, and a growing recognition that women’s homelessness is different — and must be treated differently.

Women’s Homelessness Is a Gender Equality Issue

International Women’s Day is about dismantling the barriers that hold women back. The census shows those barriers clearly:

  • trauma
  • discrimination
  • unsafe housing
  • lack of coordinated support

Women’s homelessness is shaped by gendered inequality. It requires gender‑responsive solutions — not generic ones.

Women and frontline workers have already told us what works:

  • More women‑only and pet‑friendly housing.
  • Better discharge planning from prison, hospital, and rehab.
  • Trauma‑informed mental health and substance use support.
  • Policies that reflect women’s lived realities, not bureaucratic categories.
  • Safety and trust at the centre of every service.

Leeds has the partnerships, the evidence, and the commitment. Now it needs the investment and policy change to match.

International Women’s Day Isn’t Just a Celebration — It’s a Challenge

Women experiencing homelessness show extraordinary resilience every day. They shouldn’t have to. This International Women’s Day, we honour their strength — and we demand systems that stop relying on it.

Read the full 2025 Leeds Women’s Rough Sleeping Census now.

This census is made possible by the dedication of organisations across Leeds—from Basis Yorkshire, Leeds Women’s Aid, St Anne’s, Change Grow Live, Barca, Simon on the streets, Bevan, Joanna Project, Forward Leeds, Turning Lives around, Leeds homeless charter, Together women, Leeds city council—who are committed to building a safer, more inclusive city for all women.

Annie Butterfield (annie.butterfield@basisyorkshire.org.uk) is the Housing and Influencing Change Worker at Basis Yorkshire and facilitates the Leeds Women’s Homelessness and Housing Frontline Network.

If you are a frontline worker and would like to access the regular Frontline Worker network meetings in Leeds, sign up for the mailing list to receive updates and be notified about future events.

This blog was first published on the Basis Yorkshire website and be read here.

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