GIRLS IN HOMELESSNESS. LIVING CONDITIONS, SENSES OF BELONGING AND SENSES OF HOME
Living in homelessness has a significant impact on a person's living conditions and sense of belonging, putting the meaning of home at stake, as well as the universal need to call a place home. The goal of this project is to contribute knowledge about girls' own experiences of living in homelessness without their legal guardians.
Girls who experience homelessness without their parents after being forced to leave home form a particularly vulnerable group in Sweden. Their living situation can lead to mental health issues, drug abuse, criminal activity, exposure to violence, and sexual exploitation. Despite this, girls experiencing homelessness without parents in Sweden remain an invisible group, both in public discourse and in Swedish research.
The aim of the project is to contribute knowledge about girls' own experiences of living in homelessness, through an ethnographic study with 15-24-year-old girls, with focus on their living conditions, and senses of belonging and home.
Through participant observations, visual methods, and interviews, the girls will share their perspectives on their living situation in cases such as: being thrown out of their homes; sleeping in a place other than their home without their guardian's permission; leaving a placement without authorization; or lacking a permanent place to return to—all situations that constitute homelessness. The goal of the project is to provide insight into girls' own perspectives on life conditions, belonging, and home—knowledge that is currently missing in both Swedish and international research on homelessness.
The project is a collaboration between Karlstad University and Umeå University and is funded by the Swedish Research Council.