Median Age of Death for Unhoused Women in Toronto drops to 38
tag 1 tag 2 tag 3According to the latest 2024 statistics from Toronto Public Health, the median age of death for unhoused women in Toronto is only 38 years old. This is a 5 year drop from the median age of 43 in 2023 and significantly less than half of the average life expectancy for housed women in Toronto, which is 85. This research does not include women who live in precarious housing and do not qualify under government regulations to access resources. The number of deaths for houseless women far exceeds what is presented.
Many unhoused women are made up of young refugee and asylum seeker populations coming from countries like Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia and other African countries devastated by centuries of colonialism and imperialism. 58% of houseless people recorded in Toronto are Black, despite only making up 10% of the total population. Black folx are less likely to have access to resources and face significant barriers due to racism and xenophobia, leaving them to survive on their own.
91% of deaths recorded for unhoused women between the age of 20-39 was from an overdose. Pneumonia was included in the list of illnesses responsible for 7% of unhoused women’s deaths. The drug supply in Toronto continues to exceed in toxicity, as benzos are frequently and heavily laced in opioids. Benzos are resistant to the effects of naloxone, leaving drug users increasingly vulnerable to an overdose. Meanwhile, safe injection sites and shelters continue to be shut down under Doug Ford’s provincial changes.
Gender based violence (GBV) GBV severely impacts a woman’s ability to maintain housing and leaves them vulnerable to death at the hands of their partners. Many women, especially those with children, stay in unsafe living situations because shelters are unreliable. Women in abusive relationships are often stopped from having their own income and are isolated from community, forcing them to be reliant on their abusers. Women can self medicate through drug use to deal with mental and physical trauma which spills into employment as well as personal relationships.
There are also circumstances where a woman is being injected by a man close to her, increasing the risk of poisoning and overdose.
Factors Impacting Causes of Death
Lack of Women- Specific Resources: Women face unique barriers and persecution that intersect at different factors like immigration status, drug use, trafficking and sex work, domestic violence, pregnancy, periods, mental health and so on. Organizations specific to women are few and struggle to provide well rounded support due to lack of resources and funding. Shelters turn away over 1000 women and children daily.
Employment: Women are more likely than men to work part-time, casual, or contract jobs, often with low wages, no benefits, and little job security. This includes sex work which is difficult to transition out of due to stigmatization within more formal job sectors.
Mental and physical disabilities: Women are uniquely and constantly exposed to violence which leaves long lasting impacts on their mental and physical health. A gender-norm of caregiving for loved ones before themselves leaves women neglecting their health. This is often paired with traumatic stress and leads to autoimmune disorders, hormonal imbalances, and other physical disabilities. Additionally, postpartum depression and other maternal mental health challenges further increase housing instability for women with children.
There is significant gap in support for both mental and physical disabilities, as shelters lack wheelchair accessibility, daycares, gynecologists and nurses, and mental health services.
What needs to be changed?
- Recognize women’s homelessness as distinct from men’s and develop tailored solutions
- Change the definition of unhoused women to include precariously housed women to increase accessibility to resources and data
- Fund and expand gender-specific housing programs, including emergency, transitional, and long-term housing.
- Expand education on intersectionality within social and leftist sectors that considers refugee, racialized, and Indigenous women, sex workers, gender diverse people, and those with disabilities.
- Centre women’s voices and their experiences. Victim blaming and silencing remains common in leftist spaces, leaving victims isolated and further harmed.
