As a formerly homeless woman, I think it’s important to help others understand exactly how violent the streets are. I was 18 when I first experienced homelessness and had another stint with being unhoused and on the streets in 1992. According to Georgetown Law, one in three homeless women will experience being sexually assaulted. I have found this statistic to be true.
My own personal lived experience is that I was assaulted on multiple occasions. Did I report it? Only once and I wasn’t believed because I was a homeless addict with mental health concerns. The police were not helpful to me in that point in time. The worst attack I survived was being drug into a dark alley in Lebanon, Oregon and threatened and raped. I didn’t report it. These traumatic events have led to me having a diagnosis of PTSD associated with being homeless and all that comes with it.
The truth is that especially homeless women do not report the abuse. There is a code on the streets that you never involve the police. Those who are on the streets have their own code of conduct and reporting anyone could get you in a dangerous spot, as you’d likely be called, “a narc.” And the women you see holding signs asking for help, well, they are often forced to do so by the man in their life. I never held a sign asking for help, but I knew of women who were coerced or forced to “fly a sign.”
Why does society not address this issue? Women experiencing homelessness are some of the most vulnerable amongst us. How do we protect them? We don’t do a very good job at that. PTSD is a very real and true diagnosis for most women who live homeless.
There is also physical violence on the streets that goes unreported. People take matters into their own hands, often resulting in violent attacks and physical fights. There are still images in my own head that I cannot forget that involved watching this kind of violence take place. And there have been incidents in the past where the violence led to the death of someone.
It is a sad but true reality that the streets have their own set of rules. So, the next time you see a homeless woman holding a sign asking for help, realize that she has been through trauma after trauma. She doesn’t trust people anymore and it is daunting to try and convince her to leave the streets and find a better way of living. Addiction keeps some of these women on the streets and until they are ready, there is little we can do to help.
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