First project outcome: National Report

October 2025

The National Report of the INTERACT project highlights specific gaps and opportunities in measures to tackle homelessness among women

Project number: 101172611 – INTERACT – ESF-2023-HOMELESS

The “Intersectional Approach to Combating Homelessness for Women” (INTERACT) project has published its first output, the INTERACT National Report, which provides a detailed insight into the current approaches of six European countries – Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Romania – to preventing and combating homelessness among women.

This three-year project (1 October 2024 to 30 September 2027), co-funded by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), is coordinated by the Union of Women’s Associations of the Prefecture of Heraklion (UWAH) in Greece. It brings together consortium partners from Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Romania to develop and test a gender-responsive, intersectional and trauma-informed intervention model aimed at improving support services and assistance structures for homeless women across Europe.

The country report summarises and analyses national and local data, legal and political frameworks, service structures and key stakeholders. Its aim is to identify both country-specific realities and the common challenges that shape the experiences of women facing housing insecurity or homelessness across Europe.

Despite significant national differences, several common themes can be identified:

Fragmented support systems and services: Women affected by homelessness often require housing alongside various forms of social, health and trauma-related support. Current systems are rarely coordinated, meaning that the actual support needs of many people are not met.
Limited gender perspective: Most approaches to tackling homelessness and many support services do not fully take into account the pathways that lead women into homelessness, including the role of gender-based violence and care work.
Inconsistent data: Different definitions and measurement methods make it difficult to compare homelessness rates between countries and hinder effective planning, the evaluation of the effectiveness of measures, and their cross-national comparison.
Need for trauma-sensitive approaches: Support services often overlook the impact of trauma on women’s lives, underscoring the importance of integrated trauma-sensitive and harm-reduction approaches.

By identifying common challenges and key differences between national contexts, the country report highlights the need for localised implementation. It serves as a basis for the development of the INTERACT pilot intervention model, which can be adapted to local contexts whilst promoting a consistent approach to supporting women experiencing homelessness.

The country report (full version and short version) can be downloaded via the following links:
» Country report, full version in German (PDF, not accessible)
» Country report, full version in English (PDF, not accessible)
» Country report, short version in English (PDF, not accessible)

Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.