What is the prevalence of domestic violence among women who are homeless?
A. The figures vary widely, but there is a consensus that most women who experience homelessness have been victims of domestic violence. It is difficult to assess how many homeless men have experienced domestic violence either as children or adults because most shelters do not collect this data and few studies in this area have been conducted. Some recent numbers: • A study of homeless and low-income women in Worcester, Massachusetts, found that 63% of these women had experienced some form of severe physical violence by their current or most recent partner. 92% of the women surveyed had experienced severe physical violence or sexual assault at some point in their lives. (Ellen Bassuk, M.D., National Center on Family Homelessness, Written Submission to the U.N. Regional Consultation on Women and the Right to Adequate Housing in North America 2 (October 15, 2005) (on file with NLCHP) (citing E.L. Bassuk et al., The Characteristics and Needs of Sheltered Homeless and Low-Income Housed Mot
