Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- According to a new research, building additional social housing to help persons fleeing domestic abuse would more than pay for itself
- Building 16,810 social housing units cost of $7.6 billion would be dwarfed by economic benefits of $15.3 billion and the creation of 47,000 jobs, the report found
- The report commissioned by Everybody’s Home found family and domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women and children
- Western Australian-based Financial Counsellors’ Association said there has been a surge in clients who are impacted by family or domestic violence (FDV)
Building social housing to help women escaping domestic abuse would more than pay for itself, according to a new report.
The ‘Nowhere To Go’ Equity Economics report, which is to be submitted to the National Women’s Safety Summit, said building 16,810 social housing units for women fleeing domestic violence would deliver an immediate economic impact.
The advantages of providing long-term social housing to victims of family violence were examined in the research, and it was discovered that it is the main reason women and children seek specialised homelessness services.
Only 3.2 per cent receive the long-term housing solutions they require, with the report finding the absence of long-term social housing causes 7690 women to return to abusive relationships each year and 9120 women to become homeless each year.
Women over 55 are the fastest-growing group of homeless people in Australia with research from the University of South Australia last year saying 240,000 women over 55 are at risk of homelessness.
The report said the provision of 16,810 social housing units would cost up to $7.6 billion, with costs to the Government potentially lower through the use of community housing providers and other innovative financing models.
Despite the upfront costs, the report said it would deliver immediate economic benefits of $15.3 billion and create 47,000 jobs across the economy.
The $7.6 billion would be dramatically lower than the cost family and domestic violence has every year, which PWC puts at $22 billion.
It would avoid $122.5 million in a year in costs due to women returning to a violent partner and $257 million in a year in costs due to women experiencing homelessness after leaving their homes due to family and domestic violence, according to the report.
The Equity Economics report was commissioned by Everybody’s Home, whose national spokesperson Kate Colvin said made a compelling economic and social case.
“More than 9000 women and children face homelessness each year after leaving a violent partner. As this report highlights, many simply have nowhere to go,” she said.
“Victims and survivors of domestic and family violence are often criticised for returning to their abusive partners but an overwhelming majority have to choose between that and homelessness.
“This report demonstrates an urgent need for an additional 16,800 social housing units to ensure women and children have somewhere to go when they are forced to leave their homes due to domestic and family violence. Stable housing is critical to their safety and wellbeing.”
Ms Colvin said ideally women would stay in their homes while perpetrators are removed during instances of violence.
Over the past year, the report found that there was a 5.9 per cent increase in the number of women seeking specialist homelessness services that had experienced domestic violence, compared to a 0.4 per cent decrease across all other client groups.
Western Australian-based Financial Counsellors’ Association said there has been a surge in clients who are impacted by family or domestic violence (FDV).
“The Financial Counselling Network, through its Emergency Relief Food Access Service (ERFAS) reported for the month of April to May 2021 a 122% increase in clients presenting impacted by FDV (40 up from 18) and a 600% increase in referrals to FDV services (21 up from 3) in the metropolitan area,” Financial Counsellors’ Association executive officer Melanie Every said.
Rates of domestic and family violence have remained mostly unchanged over the last 15 years, with one in six women, and one in six men experiencing physical or sexual violence by a current or previous partner since the age of 15, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
