Street involved women experience a great deal of violence. There is a high risk for STDs as well as getting beaten up or sexually assaulted. Street workers are the most vulnerable and East Hastings has been identified as the most dangerous place for street involved women.
“Emerging Voices” a recent study funded by the Status of Women, documented women’s experience of violence in this area. In the study 51% of the women surveyed had experienced a violent incident in the past 24 hours, 62% had witnessed one, and 66% had heard about a violent incident in the last 24 hours. This is the reality street involved women face.
In our group conversation with women about life in the Downtown Eastside we talked about the fact that there is no privacy for women, that there is a great deal of cruelty, women have to have strong survival instincts, bars are their living rooms and self-esteem is dangerously low. Women are isolated and there is not a strong sense of community. There is strong competition, lots of mistrust, fear, and anger. A lot of the time, women felt that they were alone in the world. That they had little or no community to support them in making positive changes in their lives.
Women involved in this project commented on how much the group had come to mean to them. The opportunity to share their thoughts, feelings and ideas with other women had been an enriching and affirming experience. Being part of a group, a group that was working collaboratively to create something meaningful to be shared with other women, was a positive factor for all of us.
Women talked of life in the DTES as stressful with little opportunity to recover from the effects of stress and ill-health.
“Most women have no homes of their own. The bars are the only social life possible. For most women, their addiction comes first. Most come from loveless homes, lots of sexual abuse. Many have lost their kids, lost their hope for the future. They have lost their self-esteem - comes from men. Selling their bodies makes them hard. They hate men and the violence put upon them.”
Women work and men benefit. “Emotionally I am like a roller-coaster. Some days are great and I’m very happy go lucky while on other days I’m just tired and bitchy or sad or mad and bitchy.”
“I feel a lot of women in the DTES are on an emotional rollercoaster, a lot of ups and downs that have to do with addictions. Up - quick high. Long low (downer).For me, living in the Downtown Eastside is very stressful.”