Trans woman slept rough after council failed to rehouse her away from transphobic abusers

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A trans woman was forced to sleep rough after a local authority failed to rehouse her when she received transphobic abuse.

Southwark council refused to find the woman, known only as Ms X, a new home even after she claimed to have been sexually assaulted 100 metres from her flat and abused by locals.

A council employee told Ms X it was reasonable for her to continue living in her property in the borough because she would face transphobic abuse wherever she lived.

But the Local Government Ombudsman – which regulates councils – found the staff member had incorrectly said police hadn’t recommended Ms X leave the flat for her safety, when officers had.

Ms X, who suffers from a number of mental and physical health problems, moved into the housing association flat in Southwark in February 2020.

Soon after moving in she began to suffer daily transphobic threats and abuse from random men in the area.

She said she was harassed by strangers while out walking her dog and at local shops and a cafe.

She fled London in May 2020 to get away from the abuse and ended up sleeping rough outside the capital.

She applied for homelessness assistance there but the local council told her she wasn’t eligible for help because she hadn’t given up her tenancy on her flat in Southwark.

Ms X returned to London three months later in August and asked Southwark council to rehouse her.

During this time she slept rough in central London. She only occasionally returned to her flat in Southwark because she felt unsafe there.

Ms X’s housing association eventually rehoused her in another London borough in April 2021, months before the Ombudsman reached its decision on the council’s handling of her case.

It ordered Southwark to pay her £400 in recognition of the distress caused.

A Southwark council spokesman said: “We deeply regret the faults we made in handling Ms X’s request.

“We acknowledge that it was our responsibility to obtain all the relevant and up-to-date information from the police, as well as explaining to Ms X the outcome of her request in writing. We sincerely apologise for the distress caused.”

Pictured top: Southwark Council’s headquarters (Picture: Google Street View)