Centering the Housing Needs of Survivors of Gender-based Violence

By: Chelsea Naylor, Legal Intern for Gender-based Violence Prevention, HUD, Karlo Ng, Director on Gender-based Violence Prevention and Equity, HUD, and Elayne Weiss, Special Policy Advisor, HUD

May 25, 2023

The Biden-Harris Administration released today the country’s first National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which addresses systemic barriers to safety for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. This includes the lack of safe and affordable housing options that truly meet the needs of survivors.

Gender-based violence survivors endure abuse, violence, and control in many forms, all of which can lead to survivors becoming housing unstable or losing their homes. The violence can be physical or emotional and is often both. It may involve sexual assault, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, family violence, and more. It can also include economic abuse that leaves survivors with ruined credit scores and unable to support themselves through stable employment.

Because of the violence and abuse they experienced, survivors often have no choice but to leave their homes and find safe, alternative housing. However, they often face significant obstacles when doing so. One obstacle is the critical shortage of affordable and available homes in the U.S. Indeed, domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness for women and children. Many people experiencing homelessness have also experienced sexual assault prior to becoming homeless.

Further, survivors can face particular housing challenges. For instance, survivors may have criminal or eviction records related to the violence, which can lead to landlords rejecting their applications for housing. Survivors may also suffer from anxiety, depression, or PTSD related to their violence, which limits their ability to hold down a job, constraining their ability to get into housing and afford rent.

Without adequate housing, survivors are left vulnerable to additional abuse and violence. Landlords may feel empowered to request sexual favors in exchange for housing support. Survivors may feel they have to remain in an abusive or violent situation to avoid homelessness. Those who do become homeless face danger and violence while on the street or in a shelter – many are sexually assaulted, and human traffickers may target and recruit people with unstable housing.

Laws, such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Fair Housing Act, work to prevent these situations by providing critical housing protections to survivors accessing and maintaining housing. HUD has and continues to implement and enforce these safeguards for survivors. Recently, HUD announced new resources, including a VAWA website, to help survivors understand their housing rights and for

HUD’s housing providers to understand their obligations under VAWA.

Additionally, HUD provides federal housing resources through its state and local partners to assist survivors, including survivors fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, dating violence, and sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking. Programs, like the Continuum of Care Domestic Violence Bonus, the Emergency Housing Voucher program, Stability Voucher program, and the HOME-ARP program, help survivors, particularly those facing homelessness, find stable housing. Community Development Block Grant funds can be used to support a range of activities for low- and moderate-income people, including services for survivors, housing information and referral, childcare, and mental health. Other HUD programs, like the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, and Housing Counseling, can help survivors repair their credit, build financial assets, move into homeownership, and achieve economic independence.

HUD does not do this work alone, however. Local nonprofits are building new, survivor-focused, affordable housing. These initiatives combine Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), HUD funding, and nonprofit resources to build homes and provide a transformative approach that meets survivors where they are, acknowledges and celebrates intersectional identities, and enables financial stability. Best practices include approaches that center the diverse experiences of survivors, while working directly with survivors and local victim service providers to make decisions influencing housing policies and development in communities.

Survivors need a continuum of housing options, and the ability to ensure their own economic security and well-being. HUD urges the continuation and growth of partnerships and coordination between federal agencies, state and local partners, philanthropy, and other sectors to implement the Biden-Harris Administration’s agenda. Together we can increase our housing supply to provide the survivor-focused, survivor-led, and survivor-safe homes and opportunities that are so desperately needed.