Women and Homelessness

> Abstract_ There has been a relative paucity of European research on women’s homelessness since the European Observatory on Homelessness promoted the first overall study on the subject in 2001. This chapter provides a critical review of the research undertaken since then, focusing on the continuities and consistencies found regarding the previous findings and exploring the developments brought about by the new research produced. Given the almost total absence of comparative European research on women’s homelessness, the literature review is based on available national studies on the theme. Beginning with the potential impact of recent developments in defining and measuring homelessness in Europe on the (in)visibility of female homelessness, the chapter examines the complexity of the hidden nature of women’s homelessness, the material and immaterial challenges and constraints faced by homeless families and the response strategies they adopt, the experiences of homeless women as service users and their interactions with the welfare system and its actors, as well as the importance of developing sound theoretical frameworks for understanding women’s homelessness. Finally it identifies the major gaps that persist in the research into this area and explores some key questions for the development of the research and policy agenda.