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Lasting Powers of Attorney: recent key developments
Lucy Bluck
When I interned at a charity campaigning to end violence against women over ten years ago the statistics were that one in four women experiences domestic abuse during her lifetime and two women every week are killed by their current partner or ex-partner in England and Wales. Sadly those statistics remain the same today. Now, as a property lawyer ten years later, I have found it interesting to explore the relationship between gender equality and property. As reported in Emer Hughes' blog, the first women to win the right to vote in 1918 were over 30 and met a property qualification. This right to property gave women power. Today, higher rents, lack of affordable housing, unemployment and cuts to public services and benefits means property security is a challenge for many and homelessness levels are on the rise in the UK. Specifically amongst women, a common factor for becoming homeless is experiencing domestic abuse in the home.
Domestic abuse disregards social divisions such as class and ethnicity –it can happen to anyone. Both men and women can be victims of domestic abuse, but more commonly it is experienced by women and carried out by men. Domestic abuse encompasses all forms of physical and sexual violence, financial and psychological abuse, harassment, stalking, and coercive and controlling behaviour. Escaping abuse, often to protect children is the commonest reason reported by women for becoming homeless. In the Rebuilding Shattered Lives final report for example, St Mungo’s reported that a third of the women they work with said domestic violence had contributed to their homelessness, compared to 8% of men. Rough sleeping is the most visible form of homelessness and more prevalent amongst men. Women often fall under the category of ‘hidden homeless’, which means moving around unsecure accommodation such as hostels, B&B’s, squats, sheds or sofa-surfing without statutory entitlement to housing. One of the reasons that women often conceal themselves is because of the threat of violence either from a previous relationship or when sleeping rough. The invisibility of women who are homeless makes it easier to underestimate the number of women who are affected and even harder for them to access support services.
Domestic abuse tends to build over time and in secret the abuser chips away at their victim’s self-worth and isolates them from family, friends, employment and other support networks. The victim can find themselves totally financially and socially dependent on their abuser. This pre-existing pattern of isolation and control often means that those escaping a violent home or abusive relationship may have nowhere safe to turn and little access to resources. Leaving is in fact the most dangerous time for victims of domestic violence, with the majority of deaths by an ex-partner occurring in the first year of separation. Given the vulnerability of women affected by domestic abuse it is essential that the right support can be accessed and many homeless services champion the importance of gender specific services. However, St Mungo’s have reported that funding for gender specific homeless services for women has been reduced from 12% to only 8%. A common history of sexual and other abuse among homeless women means often they feel too unsafe to access shared male and female services.
Women who have dependent children with them or are pregnant have a ‘priority need’ for accommodation under section 189(1) Housing Act 1996 and a local authority therefore owes them a duty of care to provide emergency housing (unless immigration restrictions apply). Other women who are homeless because of domestic abuse will need to show they are ‘vulnerable’. A local authority has discretion as to whether it assesses a person as ‘vulnerable’ and vulnerability is the most litigated priority need. For example a woman who is homeless and has consistent support from her family is less likely to be classed as vulnerable than a woman who has no support network. In practice, providing a local authority with satisfactory evidence of vulnerability (e.g. witness statements from friends or a GP) can be very difficult due to the secretive nature and fear of domestic abuse.
IWD is an opportunity to build on the progress that has been made towards gender parity and to celebrate the achievements of women on a global scale. This year, #PressforProgress.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
Lucy Bluck
Daniel Clyne
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