‘Project Willow’ outlines gender-based violence among women experiencing homelessness

A new report is raising the alarm bells about the amount of gender-based violence women experiencing homelessness face on a weekly and even daily basis. 

It's called 'Project Willow' and it's a first of its kind survey locally and the numbers are rather shocking. 

The 70-page report suggests 92 per cent of the women spoken to said they experience violence at least once a week and more than four in 10, daily. 

“To the extent that it has impacted women, what we learned was shocking,” said Kate Crozier, director of programs with Community Justice Initiatives. Crozier adds these incidents also often go unreported. 

“Two-thirds of the time when they're experiencing violence, they are not reaching out to police for support. They are just choosing to forget it,” she said. 

More than eight in 10, or 83 per cent of respondents also said they chose to stay in a housing situation that was also abusive or violent because even that felt safer than being on the street. 

Jennifer Gordon is the director of advocacy for YWKW and she said “nearly all respondents said verbal violence is something they deal with on a regular basis.”

Eight in 10 respondents said they have experienced emotional and mental violence, half said things got physical and one-third said they've experienced sexual harm. 

More than 40 per cent also say they've resorted to violence themselves or attached themselves to people known to be violent as a way to keep themselves safe. 

The full report can be found here.