Domestic Violence is the Number One Cause of Homelessness for Young Girls and Women

Meslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Domestic violence is the number one cause of homelessness for young girls and women. It is archaic to limit one's comprehension of domestic violence in its extent as physical battery alone. Domestic violence and abuse take on a much darker, more sinister incarnation in more sophisticated forms such as abuse of process and legal abuse. Abuse is about power and control. Isolation and deprivation are the two most powerful tools abusers can use to control and humiliate their victims, and isolation is easily accomplished by adult bullying and public humiliation. Deprivation is even easier to accomplish by limiting a woman's access to employment, income, money, education and resources. A self-actualized person may have resilience in an emotionally abusive relationship, but as the abuser works his way down the pyramid of Meslow's hierarchy of needs - systematically depriving a woman of basic human rights - that resilience is ultimately depleted.  When basic needs such as shelter and safety cannot be met - a woman's self esteem and emotional welfare become secondary in her fight to survive. Bruises heal after a few days. But the effects of homeless traumatic stress and post traumatic stress take longer to heal. Restoring a woman's dignity cannot take place in a homeless environment. Ensuring a woman's lack of dignity is essential for abusers. Forcing a woman into homelessness and poverty is accomplished using law enforcement and the legal system to abuse process, while simultaneously publicly humiliating and bullying the victim.  

This is power and control. 

Link:  "Lost wages could stem from a few different factors. Some women may need to take time off work to go to court, for instance. Other women may experience an escalation in the abuse after their partners realize they’re attempting to get the legal system involved, which could involve interfering at women’s workplaces. Previous research has confirmed that work is actually a dangerous place for victims of domestic abuse. Among women who are killed on the job, the leading cause of death is homicide — frequently, murders perpetrated by intimate partners. Many abusers target women at work because they know that’s where they can find them; even if a woman has broken off the relationship and moved out of the house, she’ll still need to show up for her shift at her job. Even if women aren’t physically harmed, they may be fired. Some women lose their jobs after their abusers start showing up to harass them, [or send police to harass them] since their employers see that as a problematic disruption. The majority of U.S. states don’t have employment protections for victims of domestic violence, leaving them vulnerable to face economic consequences for abuse that’s out of their control. In a study of 32 women in abusive relationships, 91 percent ended up getting fired or resigning from their jobs over the course of two years because of their abuse."