Housing Provision for Women Experiencing Domestic and Family Violence in NSW during COVID-19

Abstract

Domestic and family violence (DFV) increased in complexity during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating further opportunities to help women escape DFV. Governments responded by injecting ad-hoc funding into temporary housing options and homelessness services. This paper provides an integrated discussion between the COVID-driven responses (policy analysis) and the experiences of DFV service providers in NSW, Australia (empirical data), which showed that existing policies are often limited in scope and out of touch with the DFV survivors’ long-term housing and support needs. A more holistic approach with DFV targeted housing responses and policies is needed to more effectively help women leaving DFV.