Contact : A. Laporte

Homeless women represent a small proportion of the population of homeless people, one person in five in Paris in 2004, but this number has been increasing for several years. Thus, the emergency shelter system, organized according to the minimum needs of men, is very poorly suited to women. Despite the extensive research program developed since the late nineties in social science and public health on the "homelessness" issue and the seeking care problems of people in social vulnerability, few studies have been devoted to women.

But homeless women also face the management of their sexual and reproductive lives. To try to improve their access to care, regular gynecological consultations have been implemented in the shelters of the Samusocial Paris. The low use of such consultations, despite the advocacy work conducted by gynecologists, was the starting point of this project. A qualitative study was therefore conducted with the primary objective to understand the determinants of the past and present use of obstetric and gynecological care, perceived needs, and problems of access for homeless women. The secondary objective was the elaboration of recommendations to adapt the supply of care to homeless shelters and associations that provide services to homeless people, and encourage women at these places that they would be specifically dedicated to them.

The methodology of the study was based on 30 semi-structured interviews conducted with women receiving care from the Paris Samusocial. The material analysis was conducted as part of a multidisciplinary approach (anthropological, sociological, psychological).

The main result of this study is that homeless women have the same desires, needs, and behaviors regarding their emotional, sexual, and reproductive health as women in the general population. Still, they must face more difficulties because of their living conditions and trajectories in order to be able to continue to assume their identities as women.

Grants : Direction Générale de la Santé.

Report

Articles

"L’hétérogénéité des expériences affectives et sexuelles de femmes vivant sans-domicile-fixe", Laporte A., Le Méner E., in Les femmes et le Sida en France – Enjeux sociaux et de santé publique, Médecine Sciences, 24, 2, p. 41-47.

"Entre signification et injonction. Pour un travail sur le sens du recours aux soins des sans-abri", Gardella E., Laporte A., Le Méner E., Sciences sociales et Santé, 26, 3, p. 35-46.