With the stereotype of the older homeless man on the street, it surprises many people to learn that the average person experiencing homelessness is, in fact, a young woman – often with a child in tow.

Women are the "hidden homeless", secreted away in refuges, concealed in emergency shelters, couch surfing in a friend’s spare room or eking out a day-to-day existence in hotel rooms, caravan parks, or even in their cars to avoid sleeping rough on the streets, where the threat of violence is ever-present.

Indira Naidoo is the host of SBS’s three-part documentary Filthy Rich & Homeless. Photo: Supplied

For many women, violence is the reason they are homeless. Over a third of women over the age of 15 have experienced physical, psychological and/or sexual violence at the hands of a current or former partner. And many are forced out of their homes due to fears for their safety and the safety of their children.

As an ambassador for the Wayside Chapel (a homeless crisis centre in Sydney's Kings Cross) I have met many of these women and seen how – as a nation – we neglect them.

According to figures released by Homelessness Australia in 2013, domestic and family violence is the number one reason why women approach specialist homeless services, with 55 per cent of female clients citing this reason.