Survivor Voices Inform System Change in “Joining the Dots”

SiSi (Survivors Informing Services and Institutions) contributed to the National Women’s Council report, Joining the Dots: Housing Precarity, Homelessness and Violence Against Women and Girls, authored by Kathy Walsh.

Joining the Dots

The report is grounded in a national event that brought together survivors, policymakers, and frontline services to examine how housing systems intersect with violence against women—and how they must change.

Lived Experience Driving Solutions

Mary-Louise Lynch, representing SiSi, brought critical lived experience into the discussion—highlighting that many women are forced to choose between:

remaining in abuse or becoming homeless.

This contribution shaped the report’s central finding:
systems are not currently designed to respond to the realities of women’s lives.

Reframing the Response

A key message from survivors was clear:

Women should not have to leave their homes to be safe

Systems must shift to ensure:

  • Victim/survivors can remain safely in their own homes
  • Perpetrators are removed and rehoused

This is a fundamental shift in how housing and domestic violence responses are designed and delivered.

Building Joined-Up Systems

The report highlights the need for:

  • Integration of housing and domestic violence services
  • Increased refuge and long-term housing options
  • Recognition of hidden homelessness
  • Targeted supports for marginalised women
  • Embedding lived experience in policy and decision-making

Supported by the National Women’s Council and organisations across the sector, the event reflects growing momentum for coordinated, system-wide change.

Transforming Systems Through Lived Experience

For SiSi, this work is about transforming systems so they respond to safety, dignity, and rights.

The Joining the Dots report shows what is possible when lived experience informs not only understanding—but system design and reform.

→ Read the report
→ Learn more about SiSi’s work