There are still as many as ten times more women sleeping rough in some areas than are identified in the government’s official snapshot figures, according to the latest women’s rough sleeping census – a situation largely unchanged from last year.
Almost two thirds of the women surveyed reported sleeping in places excluded from official homelessness counts, such as buses or A&E waiting rooms, while nearly half reported walking all night to avoid being visible – and vulnerable – while sleeping rough.
The Women’s rough sleeping census 2025: missing women studied more than 100 local authorities to gain a full picture of women’s rough sleeping, and identifying more than 160 women sleeping rough across six local authorities that had recorded no women sleeping rough at all. Now in its fourth year, the census is led by the Single Homeless Project and Solace in partnership with Change Grow Live and Crisis.
Official rough sleeping counts are still compiled on the basis of a visible, male ‘bedding down’ model, the authors point out, despite women understandably trying to avoid visible rough sleeping and the associated high risk of sexual assault, violence or exploitation. More than 1,400 women were consulted for the survey – via face-to-face interviews and anonymised surveys – alongside information from ‘local insights’ meetings between homelessness, healthcare and domestic abuse services, among others.
Nearly 40 per cent of the women surveyed were receiving no support from housing officials or homelessness organisations, while 45 per cent reported being in some form of homelessness accommodation immediately prior to sleeping rough – demonstrating that services ‘often fail to meet women’s needs’, the document states. The census began in a single London borough before being rolled out across the capital in 2022 and beyond London the following year, after findings ‘showed overwhelmingly’ that women’s homelessness was being under counted.
The report calls on the government to update the definition of rough sleeping to better reflect women’s experiences and include ‘hidden, transient and less visible’ forms, as well as make sure that temporary and supported accommodation are safe and accessible for women. It also wants to the see the census funded to be rolled out to every local authority, along with clear guidance, so that accurate and inclusive data can be collected to shape policy, funding and service provision.
The government pledged to halve rough sleeping as part of its National plan to end homelessness late last year. However, the census authors state that that this needs to work for women, and calls on the government to make sure that toolkits for prevention, outreach, temporary accommodation and complex needs are gender-informed and tackle the ‘barriers faced by women most likely to be missed’.
‘Whilst homelessness and rough sleeping are dangerous and devastating for everyone, women’s rough sleeping is compounded by two key factors: near-universal experiences of violence and abuse, and inequitable policies and data systems that fail to capture, or address, women’s experiences – leading to a lack of adequate services,’ the census states.
‘Year-on-year, the Women’s rough sleeping census has identified concerning disparities between government figures, and the true number of women sleeping rough, unidentified and invisible to decision makers,’ said Change Grow Live deputy chief executive Nic Adamson. ‘Women who are experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable in our society – but our findings show that too often, they are falling through the cracks. Now is the time for government to listen to women’s experiences and to deliver the investment and focus required for support which recognises women’s unique needs. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we work together to build services that truly work for women.’
Women’s rough sleeping census 2025: missing women is available here