Risk Factors, Endurance of Victimization, and Survival Strategies: The Impact of the Structural Location of Men and Women on Their Experiences Within Homeless Milieus

Abstract

This article offers a qualitative analysis of the risk factors associated with homelessness, the endurance of victimization while homeless, and the survival strategies as well as how these factors are impacted by the sex of the homeless individual. Our study was conducted in a small city. Our main findings are that men and women have more divergent experiences in terms of risk factors than they do in survival strategies. This indicates that the differential experiences of men and women are much more pronounced in those contexts that are within the boundaries of the normative social structure. Once on the streets the experiences of men and women become very similar. The implications of these findings for policy are discussed.