Last week, Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) joined community advocates to mark National Housing Day on November 22, a day dedicated to advancing housing security and highlighting the structural housing inequities that persist for vulnerable communities.
This week, we join in the global observance of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). These two nationwide calls bring awareness to two critical issues. But not enough attention is given to the interconnections between housing and GBV. For survivors of GBV, experiences of violence and access to affordable, stable housing are deeply connected. Many survivors are caught in prolonged cycles of violence and homelessness that can last for years, impacting their ability to survive, let alone thrive.
Trapped by violence, failed by housing
GBV is a form of violence that women, girls, and gender-diverse people face disproportionately due to their gender, perceived gender, sexual identity, or gender expression. For many survivors, their housing is dependent on the person causing them harm, leaving them extremely vulnerable to eviction or forced into an impossible choice: remain in a violent home or leave and risk homelessness. For those who leave, unstable housing can last years, becoming a revolving door between shelters, unsafe rentals, and temporary arrangements with friends or family.
ACTO’s research reveals that survivors of GBV must navigate a dire lack of housing options, appropriate and effective homelessness services, and legal support. The housing system in Ontario is simply not designed with survivors in mind. Landlords can refuse to remove the person causing harm from a joint lease, leaving survivors legally tied to the person who harmed them; shelters are at capacity, forcing many survivors to remain or return to dangerous situations; eviction processes at the Landlord and Tenant Board often overlook the realities of financial abuse and coercive control, putting survivors at risk of losing their tenancies, and priority programs for social housing can take months or even years, before a unit becomes available.
The hidden cost of GBV
Ontario’s housing system exacerbates the trauma for tenant survivors. Beyond the original violence and abuse they endured, survivors face a secondary form of systemic victimization through what we characterize as housing abuse: the legal, financial, and structural barriers that penalize survivors for circumstances beyond their control.
One survivor in our research described this as an “awful, vicious, vicious, vicious circle” (LE08). From being held liable for damages made by the person causing harm to losing access to their own rent deposits, the system doesn’t just fail to protect survivors – it actively compounds their vulnerability and extends their suffering. By failing to address these critical housing gaps, the province is abandoning GBV survivors to potentially lethal consequences, as the connection between housing instability and an increased risk of femicide is well-documented.
Survivors in our research described the deep harm that the cycle of housing abuse caused after their previous experience of violence, often leaving them without options. One survivor said “Where are we allowed to exist? Please tell me, where am I allowed to exist? Nowhere” (LE15).” Survivors also stressed how important a safe and stable home was to their sense of agency and their ability to finally stabilize: “I really can’t overstate…the power of having my own home. And I know I don’t own my home, but to me, it really does make a difference (LE20)”.
Calls to action
Broad systemic change is needed, to protect survivors and enable them to escape this cycle of housing abuse and cultivate a path towards stability and healing.
- Meaningful social change starts with all levels of government declaring GBV an epidemic and embedding housing stability as a core component of violence prevention. This declaration could be used immediately in courts and tribunals, as evidence of the severity of survivor’s experience that must be considered when making decisions.
- Increase stable funding for the supply and expansion of housing and supportive services specifically for survivors, which must include committed funding for Indigenous-led housing and supportive services.
- Address the Limitations of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, which does not provide adequate protection for survivors experiencing violence in their rental housing, thereby increasing the likelihood of receiving an eviction notice.
- Introduce a Mechanism that prioritizes stable housing for survivors. There is no mechanism for survivors who want to stay in their housing unit and remove the person causing harm from the lease. Housing systems simply are not designed with tenant survivors in mind.
Survivors are asking for what every person deserves: A safe home. A stable future. A life free from violence. We can continue treating the housing crisis and the GBV crisis as separate, or we can finally recognize what survivors have been telling us for years: “This isn’t living, it is certainly not thriving. It’s hardly even living” (LE01).
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