An unsheltered family rests on blankets along a street in Naples, Italy, Jan. 26, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS/Reuters/Ciro De Luca)
Consider what it means to live in a home where you feel safe, where people will protect you, support you and help you grow as a person. Consider the opposite: How would it feel to be always afraid where you are living, to never relax but always to be on guard because you fear some, or all, of the people around you. How would this impact you? What kind of help would you need?
Catholic sisters and the organizations they support want to shine a light on the needs of women in difficult, abusive situations who need safe housing. In addition to direct service, reflect on how sisters are advocating for these women and educating others about the needs of women and girls hidden behind doors and behind cultural barriers.
'Hidden homelessness' affects the status of women worldwide
NEW YORK — The mood at this year's meetings of the U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women is a bit somber.
With the two weeks of meetings continuing and concluding this week, there is much talk about the effects and setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and how the last year has worsened already-serious conditions for many in the world, particularly women and girls.
To me, the frustration conveyed during the meetings was perhaps best summed up by MaryAnn Dantuono, the nongovernmental organization representative for the International Association of Charities, a network of 100,000 volunteers, mostly women, working to combat poverty in their local communities in 55 countries.
During a sister-sponsored webinar March 18 on the issue of "hidden homelessness," Dantuono noted that this year — 76 years after the creation of the United Nations, 73 after the crafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 26 years after the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing — "we are still shaping a definition of hidden homelessness."
"Sad but true: A right to a home is just a conversation for many people in the world," Dantuono said during the webinar, which was co-sponsored by the Vincentian Family at the U.N. and UNANIMA International, a U.N.-based coalition of Catholic congregations focused on concerns of women, children, migrants and the environment.
But the only way forward is to address problems publicly and to begin discussing solutions. And the webinar on hidden homelessness did just that.
"The 'hidden' in 'hidden homelessness' refers to not only the physical location of many of these experiences behind closed doors or in siloed areas of cities, but also to how our global society, through governance, definitions and even data, underestimate the issue and lack understanding of what such experiences look and feel like," said Daughter of Wisdom Sr. Jean Quinn, UNANIMA's executive director.
"Because of the hidden nature of the hidden issue of hidden homelessness, we must shine light on it."
For several of the speakers at the March 18 webinar, shining light meant talking about personal experiences.
A screenshot of a March 18 webinar on hidden homelessness, which was co-sponsored by the Vincentian Family at the U.N. and UNANIMA International, a U.N.-based coalition of Catholic congregations focused on concerns of women, children, migrants and the environment (GSR screenshot)
Sarah Gallardo, a Connecticut-based activist and advocate for women who have suffered domestic violence, said she knows from her own experience that for many, "hidden homelessness" is the result of trying to flee from spousal abuse.
Many women and their young children leave abusive or violent home situations with little more than a shopping bag full of personal items, said Gallardo, a founder of Sarah Speaks Up, an anti-domestic-violence advocacy organization.
"It's important to see these women through the lens of trauma," Gallardo said. Addressing the challenges of homelessness and domestic violence means "we have to think about the full scope of people's experience."
The experiences of abuse and homelessness are so often intertwined — many women leave homes only after long periods of experiencing abuse — that it is difficult for women to report such abuse, said activist ElsaMarie D'Silva. Based in Mumbai, India, D'Silva is the founder of the Red Dot Foundation and president of Red Dot Foundation Global. Red Dot's Safecity is a platform for reporting sexual and gender-based violence.
Particularly in the context of India, D'Silva said, "most women and girls don't open up about these experiences."
Solving these problems, the women said, are not easy but must begin with both concrete solutions — for example, a need for more shelters for women who have been abused — and cultural change.
"We have to make it easier for women to leave [abusive situations] than to stay," Gallardo said. There is a need for a "super-saturated message" to children and young adults that domestic abuse should never be tolerated and that there should be no question of people needing help.
She said society must ask why most abusers are men and appraise how culture and religion contribute to those dynamics.
"Women need to know that their communities are behind them," she said.
Marion Kendall is executive director of New York City-based LifeWay Network, which provides secure housing for women who have been trafficked and was founded by Sr. Joan Dawber of the Sisters of Charity of Halifax. Kendall noted the ways in which women who have experienced abuse, sexual assault, trafficking and homelessness have also endured the COVID-19 pandemic.
A shelter resident told Kendall that she and others had been "living in a pandemic" before the global health crisis. For women like that and especially for those who have experienced homelessness, dignity is everything, Kendall said.
"One woman told me that her identity was not tied up with experiencing homelessness," Kendall said. Homelessness, the woman said, "isn't an identity, but a circumstance."
Circumstance demands solutions, though, and the need for more "safe spaces" for women and children promoted some speculation about how that could be done. Gallardo suggested that perhaps the increased number of buildings abandoned because of the pandemic could now be converted for such needs.
"We need to make use of those spaces," she said.
The talk of practical solutions took me back to webinars on homelessness earlier this year, including several during the Feb. 8-17 meetings of the U.N.'s Commission for Social Development, which focused on digital technology's role in strengthening global social development.
At a Feb. 9 sister-sponsored webinar, William Soward, executive director of ShelterTech, an all-volunteer nonprofit based in San Francisco, underlined the work his group and others provide to expand access to digital services. Saying that "connectivity is a basic human right," Soward noted his organization has helped provide internet access in 20 shelters in the city, including the city's largest, which is run by the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
In addition, ShelterTech has developed an online directory of 360 organizations that are assisting those who are experiencing homelessness and seeking resources like food, shelter and counseling.
During the webinar, Sr. Teresa Kotturan, who represents the Sisters of Charity Federation at the United Nations, praised ShelterTech's work as a needed "hands-on" approach that could serve as an example to other programs and ministries.
"We can learn from this," she said.
Young people are also becoming more active at these U.N. meetings. At a Feb. 17 UNANIMA-sponsored event, a number of UNANIMA interns from St. John's University who have done research on homelessness made presentations on the pressing need to overcome the digital divide.
But they also spoke of underlying dynamics. One of the students, AjiFanta Marenah, noted that "existing cultural practices and norms that oppress women and outcast them continue to exist during displacement and migration."
"The impact these oppressions leave are carried by women as psychological traumas to their new destinations."
Unfortunately, that's true whether fleeing a war in Afghanistan or an abusive spouse in the United States.
What information in this article was new to you?
Why are Catholic sisters part of larger networks, like the U.N. networks, to help women?
Who are some of the women mentioned in the article who need safe housing to escape abusive situations? What do you think their lives have been like on a day-to-day basis?
Why is there a lack of safe housing for these women?
Even if housing is available, why can it be difficult for a mother with young children to leave an abusive situation in the U.S.?
Why are women in some cultures unable to ever break out of abusive situations?
What special housing needs do women in abusive situations in the U.S. and in other countries have?
Reflect on some of the different ways that the sisters in the article are indirectly as well as directly supporting women in abusive situations. How can you find out about and support similar efforts in your own area?
Jesus affirmed the dignity of women in many situations, often going against cultural norms of the time. For example, John 4:4-42 relates that people were shocked when Jesus spoke to a woman in public — something not done in the culture at that time — addressing her with respect, even though she was merely a female, and from another tribe. John 8:3-11 details Jesus' compassion and protection for a woman accused of adultery. In the first-century culture, a man could simply accuse a woman of betrayal, and then she could be stoned to death, but Jesus rejects this cultural practice. He reminds the people gathered they had no right to judge her, and he saves her from death.
Can you think of other times in Jesus' life when he showed respect for women and welcomed them as followers?
How can cultural expectations of female behavior in relationships and in employment situations work against women who want to leave abusive situations?
How can boys and men today model Jesus' respectful behavior toward women? How can we all work to create a culture that does not tolerate any kind of disrespect or abuse toward women?
The U.S. Catholic bishops affirmed their stance against domestic violence, always an assault on human dignity, and stressed their support for victims of domestic violence in their 2002 statement "When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women." The bishops declared, "Violence against women, inside or outside the home, is never justified. Violence in any form — physical, sexual, psychological, or verbal — is sinful; often, it is a crime as well.
Why do you think the U.S. bishops are taking such a strong stand on the issue of violence against women, including psychological and verbal violence?
The dignity of the human person is a central theme in Catholic social teaching. How does any kind of violence violate that dignity?
For decades, many Catholic sisters have been a part of the United Nations' efforts to help women, men and children around the world. For example, in 1995, Sr. Maria Riley, an Adrian Dominican, and Sr. Katherine Feely, of the Sisters of Notre Dame, brought together women leaders from low-income communities in the U.S., provided in-depth workshops for them, and secured funding to allow them to travel to and participate in the 1995 U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing.
Research on Google to learn about Catholics sisters and the U.N. today; research the women's religious orders you have had contact with to see about their involvement with the U.N.
Watch all or parts of the webinar mentioned in the article to see and hear firsthand the sisters and the women they work with. Go to YouTube, search "Hidden Homelessness: Transforming Trauma to Empowerment Webinar." Share this video and the Global Sisters Report article with members of your school and church communities.
Research with your class to see what Catholic organizations in your area are doing to help women who are victims of violence and abuse. Contact the organizations to ask what you and your classmates can do to support their work.
Christ, you model for us the respect for the dignity of all women, and you challenge us to reject all forms of violence. Help us to follow your example in all our words and actions, and to question and reject any cultural norms that may degrade the dignity of women. May we become a part of your church's work for peace and justice for all women, men and children.
Tell us what you think about this resource, or give us ideas for other resources you'd like to see, by contacting us at education@globalsistersreport.org.