The intersecting issues for disabled women experiencing homelessness in Aotearoa-New Zealand
Women are not a homogenous group, and so their experiences of homelessness are diverse. As we reflect on the spirit of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2023, we are reminded that our housing crisis impacts disabled women profoundly and that the right to housing is integral to the broader work to realise equity for disabled women.
Intersectional issues
Disabled women are severely underserved when it comes to decent housing options in Aotearoa New Zealand. Contributing factors are diverse, spanning economic disparities to a lack of accessible housing options.
Disabled women, facing the intersectionality of gender and disability, grapple with economic disparities that compound their vulnerability to homelessness. Limited job opportunities and workplace discrimination often result in lower incomes, making it challenging to secure stable housing.
The scarcity of accessible and affordable housing further complicates the challenges faced by disabled women. The built environment frequently neglects the needs of disabled people, creating barriers that extend beyond mere physical structures.
For example, only a fraction of the existing housing stock meets universal accessibility standards - despite estimates that around 24% of the population has a disability and research that shows it is much cheaper to build an accessible house new than retrofit one.
This shortage perpetuates social and economic disparities, as disabled women struggle to secure suitable housing, hindering their independence and overall well-being.
Social isolation and unmet medical needs
Disabled women experiencing homelessness often contend with heightened levels of social isolation, exacerbating the difficulties connecting with support services. Many housing and social service providers are working hard to create robust support networks and foster inclusive communities, but their efforts are hampered by funding that does not match the needs or unique contexts of women experiencing homelessness.
This impacts health and well-being outcomes, with disabled women experiencing homelessness more likely to have untreated conditions and unmet medical needs.
What can we do?
A lot can be done through changes to our policy settings, while other actions are about a culture shift in our workplaces and built environment.
As the Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness, we call strongly for increased investment in universally-designed housing, ensuring that everyone can find a home that fosters dignity, security, and a sense of belonging. This is a key “fence at the top of the cliff” measure to prevent disabled women becoming homeless and to ensure that any experiences they do have of homelessness are rare, brief, and non-recurring.
This requires a different approach to commissioning and funding public housing - which does not currently have any targets or ring-fenced funding for universal design at scale - and potential changes to our building design standards overall to ensure that our Building Code accounts for accessibility.
We also call for:
Improvements to data collection about the experiences of disabled people navigating the housing system and disaggregation of that data by gender so we can make decisions based on a good understanding of the scale of the need.
Investment in models of community-based housing that are about fostering a supportive community and community engagement for disabled women. This includes investment in papakāinga and other kaupapa Māori approaches like the Moa Crescent Kaumātua Village in Kirikiriroa.
Challenges to discriminatory employment practices that result in disabled women experiencing increased income insecurity.
Improvements to healthcare accessibility and services tailored to the specific needs of disabled women.
Find out more
To learn more about Universal Design and find resources, head to the BRANZ website, which details guidelines and research from here and overseas.
To hear directly from a disabled woman navigating the housing system in New Zealand, listen to this episode of the podcast Right At Home, which interviews advocate and wheelchair user Erin Gough about what it took for her to find a place to call home. There is a transcript available for the podcast at the following link: https://communityhousing.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/EP-3-The-Case-for-Universally-Designed-Housing-with-Disability-Advocate-Erin-Gough-transcript.pdf
For in-depth research into how we are faring in realising the right of disabled people to a home, read this report by the Donald Beasley Institute, which is based on interviews with 61 disabled people in Northland, Auckland, Christchurch, Otago, and Southland.
