(In)visible homelessness among women

In this thesis the topic of research was homelessness among women. For defining the phenomenon of homelessness the definition of the European observatory on homelessness – ETHOS was used. Besides the more visible types of homelessness, I have also paid attention to the areas of hidden and potential homelessness among women. The understanding of the connection between those forms is important because visible homelessness arises from the hidden homelessness. The structural, institutional, relational and individual factors, which increase the risk of development of homelessness were analysed. The different aspects of violence were also analysed. Another topic of interest was the influence of homelessness on motherhood. The empirical part of the thesis contains a qualitative research. A half-structured interview was used for data collection. A sample of four women with homelessness experience was analysed. Contact with them was established through »Kralji ulice« association, a safehouse for mothers, a women's safehouse and a homeless shelter. The foremost purpose of the research was deeper understanding of homelessness among women, with special attention on recognition of different types of homelessness, violence, risk factors, as well as different types of support and motherhood. The main conclusions are that mostly hidden types of homelessness are present among women and they are not recognized by society or the institutions. The findings in this thesis contribute to raising awareness on the topic of homelessness among women, which is of crucial importance for the institutions engaging them