WIRI Public Talk: Homelessness and Gender - A Constitutional Right to a Home

Women in Research Ireland (WIRI) hosted a discussion exploring the topic of gender, homelessness and the right to housing, with invited speakers Dr Sarah Sheridan and Dr Ekaterina Yahyaoui, and Moderated by WIRI's co-director, Dr Valesca Lima.

About the event: There’s a misconception about women’s homelessness as a minor social problem and a subcategory of homelessness, because women's homelessness often remains invisible. Women’s experiences of homelessness differ from those of men, and growing international evidence shows that female pathways into experiences of homelessness are complex and gender-specific, including – but not limited to – domestic violence, economic insecurity, housing exclusion and racial discrimination. Women facing intersecting forms of discrimination as they are at a disproportionate risk rate of poverty, housing exclusion and homelessness.
In the current context of a rapid increase in the number of women homelessness as a result of the housing affordability crisis in Ireland, this event will promote a debate on the relationship between gender, homelessness and the international human right to housing to underline the centrality of housing as a human right through a gender lens. In particular, we will discuss in what ways the adoption of a legal rights-based approach to housing provision can contribute to effectively addressing the challenges of women’s homelessness.

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