Point of view of women and community actors on housing after leaving a context of violence
This article presents findings from two similar studies conducted between 2017 and 2020. 68 lifecourse interviews were carried out with women who had experienced violence and one or more homelessness situations, as well as 17 focus groups with community workers. It suggests a feminist analysis of the obstacles encountered in accessing housing in remote regions of the province of Québec, when leaving a context of domestic violence. It shows that the spiral of women’s homelessness (Gélineau, 2008) can be produced by their economic fragility when they escape from a context of violence, which is reinforce by the inequalities (re)produced by spatial fix. Findings illustrate 1) the impact of economic development, which is mainly focused around traditionally male domains, on housing prices in development poles, and 2) difficulties in accessing social housing, mainly for single women. Consequently, women trying to escape a context of violence are forced to 1) relocate in a sector far from the poles, thereby reinforcing their precariousness due to problems of access to employment and resources; 2) being poorly housed in the development poles; or 3) making a return in a context of violence.