Visible women, invisible gender: Knowledge production on homelessness in Flanders

Abstract

Homelessness as a distinct social problem is a relatively recent social construct. Many women are thought to experience so-called ‘hidden homelessness’, which is said to be the cause of their under-representation in the data. However, data now show a higher proportion of women among those experiencing homelessness. In addition, current definitions explicitly include women’s specific experiences such as living under the threat of violence. This article attempts to explore this contradiction between the alleged invisibility and the increased presence of women in the broader population experiencing homelessness, particularly in the Flemish context. First, the marginalisation and housing precariousness of women is analysed from a historical perspective, from the mid 1800s to the recent federalisation of Belgium. Second, it examines the current production of knowledge about homelessness. The article shows that women’s housing precariousness was conspicuous in the past, even if it was not framed as homelessness. The practices of categorising women and representing gender are explored in current reports, statistical data and expert discourses. The recent ‘numericisation’ of homelessness research, the methods and categorisations used to produce quantitative data, are constantly caught up in existing knowledge, policies and evaluations. As a result, other variables, such as household composition or housing situation, override gender. Fragmented policies and individual responses on the ground contribute to a multiplicity of discourses and a lack of advocacy for women’s homelessness as a distinct social problem. For organisations working and advocating for migrants, migration, not gender, is the defining dimension of vulnerability. For women’s organisations, gender meant inequality manifested in domestic and intimate partner violence. The discourses on these two groups make gender an ambiguous dimension of homelessness. As a result, existing data on homelessness is rarely analysed from a gender perspective. This in turn can hinder the introduction of more gender-sensitive policies.