NWC holds major conference to explore link between the housing crisis & violence against women

Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Many women and children in Ireland today are trapped in between two crises that are dominating our headlines, the housing emergency and the shocking levels of violence against women. Yet, public discussions and policy solutions often treat them as separate issues without considering the close and reinforcing relationship between the two. 

To explore this link and identify effective policy solutions, the National Women’s Council (NWC) hosted a major conference on Housing and Violence against Women today (16th September). 
In Ireland we are seeing record levels of women’s homelessness and violence against women. According to Focus Ireland figures, there has been a 45% rise in the number of women homeless between 2022-2024. In 2024, Women’s Aid recorded the highest number of disclosures ever recorded in the organisation in its 51-year history. 52% of women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime according to CSO figures released in 2023.
Together these crises create a cycle of vulnerability that makes it extremely difficult for women and children to escape. 

Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council said,
“If a woman in a violent and abusive situation has no safe and long-term housing option, she is not only a victim of gender-based violence but also a victim of a failed housing system. A woman who is forced into sex for rent exploitation is not only affected by sexual exploitation but also let down by a broken housing market. 
With our conference today we want to highlight these close connections and identify effective solutions that are informed by the lived experiences of women. We are calling for the delivery of sufficient refuge spaces and long-term housing solutions for women and children fleeing abusive relationships. We also want to see the outlawing of sex for rent exploitation and the delivering of trauma informed housing for women exiting the sex trade and victims of trafficking.” 

Paula Mayock, Associate Professor at the School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin said, 
"For many women, the experience of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence leads directly to the loss of housing. We know from research that the process of leaving an abusive relationship is complex. This complexity is strongly connected to the coercion, power and control exerted over women by their abusive partner, within which the threat of losing one’s home is inherent to the abuses that women experience".
Mary Louise Lynch, SiSi – Survivors Informing Services and Institutions said, 

“Without flexible funding and responses that are specifically designed for women experiencing domestic violence, whether in the home or post separation, we are doing little more than creating homelessness by forcing women into refuges and on through the court system. If we are serious about offering protection to survivors of intimate partner abuse and reducing homelessness, then support for women and their children to make a fresh start must be resourced and readily available. This means providing long term, safe housing options or facilitating women to remain in their own home with immediate and absolute safety." 
The conference has been supported by the St Stephen’s Green Trust and Community Foundation Ireland. 

Denise Charlton, Executive Director of the Community Foundation Ireland said, 
“Our mission of ‘Equality for All in Thriving Communities’ cannot be achieved without ending violence against women. As a philanthropic hub we are proud to partner with the National Women’s Council to spotlight the connections between housing insecurity and an increased threat of violence. The conversations which are now taking place are not only creating awareness but must lead to solutions such as long-term housing options. Central to that conversation must be the voices of survivors.”

The event featured a wide range of experts from across civil society, agencies, and policy makers. Overall event chair was Social Justice Leader, Grainne Healy.