Living on the edge: women, poverty and homelessness in Canada

ID:	HARP-379
Title:	Living on the edge: women, poverty and homelessness in Canada
Source:	Canadian Woman Studies , v.20(3) Fall’00 pg 123-126
Parties:
Dispute Resolution Organ:
Year:	2000
Pages:	0
Author(s):
Keywords:	Canada, economic, social, and cultural rights, human rights, social equality, social security, woman, housing
Abstract:	In 1998, the mayors of Canada’s large urban centres declared homelessness a national disaster. Who the homeless are and what measures should be taken to alleviate this crisis are currently the subjects of much public attention. Traditionally, homelessness has been constructed and viewed as a male experience. Our predominant understanding of what constitutes homelessness (and therefore who is homeless) is based on those who are visibly without shelter and who use emergency shelters. Generally, women are not as prevalent as men among shelter users and hence make up only a small percentage of research samples. Women’s homelessness is often “invisible” as women rely on their domestic and sexual roles as a strategy to avoid shelters, such as taking up temporary residences in short-term sexual relationships. Recent reports suggest, however, that the visible face of homelessness in Canada is changing: youth, families, and women are the fastest growing groups in the visibly homeless and at-risk population.
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