Dimensions of Housing Insecurity for Older Women Living with a Low Income

Abstract

Limited attention in housing research is given to the experiences of insecure housing among older women living with a low income, who, evidence suggests, are especially at risk. This qualitative study found that for some older women living in Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada, housing insecurity goes beyond the problem of unaffordability. Housing insecurity emerged as the cumulative effects of inter-related factors encompassing the quality of relationships within their housing and the ability to claim a sense of safety, privacy, and autonomy within their living spaces. Flight from abusive partners, conflicts with landlords, and the death or divorce of male partners all surfaced as de-stabilizing factors in women’s housing. Women’s personal histories, including marginalized employment and early trauma also exacerbated the daily stresses of precarious housing. The role of pets as both important health supports and barriers to housing also surfaced in this research, as did the function of smoking as an entrenched coping mechanism that also limits housing options.