Youth homelessness and the forgotten link to domestic and family violence

Nationwide statistics indicate around 33 per cent of children and young people aged 10 — 24 who seek help from homelessness services are recorded as experiencing domestic and family violence.However, new research has indicated more than half of homeless youth have experienced family violence.

A survey conducted by the peak body for youth homelessness in NSW, Yfoundations, found half of young people being assisted by youth homelessness service providers had experienced domestic and family violence.Nearly half of those providers reported that 80 per cent or more of their young people had experienced violence in the home.A teenager who did wish to be named due to her delicate family situation, told news.com.au of how family violence led her to becoming homeless.It was at the age of 17, in hospital following a suicide attempt, the young woman sought help from crisis services.

Now 19 and living independently in private rental housing, the university student says she has experienced for herself the gaps in support for young people experiencing domestic violence.Speaking at the report’s launch, National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell said it was essential children and young people were included in the national conversation.

“It’s critical understanding the unique impacts and experiences of children and young people as part of this conversation. Too often they are seen as incidental or peripheral to experiences of parents and this includes the link between the link between family and domestic violence and youth homelessness,The report, launched today, also addressed the issue of intergenerational domestic violence.

While nearly a third of services were unable to say how many of their young people experienced intergenerational violence, the average proportion of those that could say, was 76 per cent.Though the majority of services reported parents or guardians were the primary source of violence, a minority reported intimate partners as the primary perpetrators.

This shows that this needs a separate story,” said Christ Stone, one of the report’s authors, at the launch.This is not just a child abuse story, this is a case of young people getting into relationships and some of them are violent.”Yfoundations chief executive Michael Coffey said there was a lack of emphasis on youth victims in research and discussion around family violence.

Too often conversations about youth homelessness do not emphasise domestic violence, and debates about domestic violence tend not to address youth,” Dr Coffey said.In the gap between these is a group of highly disadvantaged young people who are not getting the specialist support that they need.”The research conducted earlier this month saw homelessness service providers across the state interviewed representing a total of 1800 youth, provide information.

The report acknowledged that as researchers were only aware of the experiences of young people that have been reached out to a support service and disclosed their experiences, the real figures could be much worse.

Drawing upon data generated from the snapshot survey and anecdotal evidence from service providers, we anticipate the rate of domestic and family violence among young people experiencing homelessness to be significantly higher that what is currently being reported,” the report said.But community leaders and youth and family violence agencies told news.com.au services and research around youth and violence needed to be improved nationally.