The Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team surveyed 150 women from July through October 2024 across eleven women’s daytime and overnight shelters throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Forcing survivors to litigate their restraining order hearings is a regular reality — and a gaping fault in a system that continues to fail battered women, advocates say.

Data show that women experience unique causes of housing instability and challenges when experiencing homelessness, according to a survey conducted by Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism team. Often,

Faced with a homeless services system largely built for men, women experiencing domestic abuse may find themselves choosing between violence and the street.