‘Risky’ spaces: homeless women’s experiences

• In Event: State and Individual Level Responses to Crime

Abstract

This research recognises the importance of understanding homelessness from the point of view of the women living outside of the ‘traditional home’; home is considered to be domestic – woman’s, private space while public space is considered to be more male dominated sphere. In the public space it is considered gender relations (hierarchy) are operated in the similar ways as in the social institutions – dominant male and the passive females. What this means is there is the increased recognition that space is gendered. Women construct identity within public space based on their experiences – they develop their own risk assessment and management. They accept the restrictions and negotiate the boundaries. This means vulnerability of women in public spaces is related to their perceptions and experiences of their own bodies in public space (Harden, 2000). Risk is socially situated and contextualised with regards to public discourses and the socioeconomic structures that shape our lives (Green, 1997). We learned how women who live in public spaces manage and identify themselves and how they negotiate and manage some of the ‘risky’ situation they face in their daily lives. The key themes are: femininity displaced, experiencing fear (in public social space) and managing risk.

Authors

• Helena Menih

• Catrin (Kate) Smith, Griffith University