Survey also finds that 28% of rough-sleeping women have taken an 'unwanted sexual partner' in order to find shelter

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

A fifth of homeless people have committed "imprisonable offences" to spend a night in the cells and more than a quarter of women rough sleepers took an "unwanted sexual partner" to escape their plight, new research out today shows.

Hidden Homelessness, a survey of more than 400 rough sleepers by Sheffield Hallam University, reveals the desperate steps taken by the homeless to find shelter.

A major homeless charity warns that these trends will become more pronounced as planned government cuts to benefits begin to hit frontline services.

Unwanted sex has become a way out of homelessness for many. One in seven men and 28% of women had spent a night – or longer – with an unwanted sexual partner to "accommodate themselves".

Others have ventured into prostitution, with almost a fifth of women taking up "sex work" because this offered an opportunity to spend the night off the streets.

Crime can play a big part in rough sleepers' lives. Nearly 30% admitted to committing a "minor crime such as shoplifting or anti-social behaviour" in the hope of being taken into custody for the night.

And a fifth of those questioned said they had avoided being given bail or committed "an imprisonable offence with the express purpose of receiving a custodial sentence as a means to resolving their housing problems".

Part of the difficulty, the report identifies, is that people were not getting the help they need and many cannot easily negotiate their way into, for example, a hostel.

The result is a "hidden homelessness" where people sleep on friends' floors, in squats or on the streets. They also resort to extreme steps to put a roof over their heads.

Crisis, the homeless charity which commissioned the study, described its findings as "shocking". Crisis chief executive Leslie Morphy said it was "desperately sad to see the lengths that people are taking to escape the horrors of homelessness".

She added that the charity expected to help 2,500 homeless people in London and Newcastle this Christmas and called on the government to rethink its strategy of paying back the deficit by cutting spending on the poor.

An impact equality assessment for the Department of Work and Pensions warned that the cuts would lead to "increases in the number of households with rent arrears, eviction and households presenting themselves as homeless".

Morphy said she "feared planned government cuts will lead to many more people struggling to keep their homes during the coming year".

She added: "Crisis wants the government to seriously rethink its plans. Poor, vulnerable and homeless people must not bear the brunt of reducing the deficit – it is a basic issue of social justice."

There has been some alarm over the numbers of rough sleepers since official government statistics released earlier this month showed that homelessness – as assessed by councils – has increased in two consecutive quarters for the first time since 2003.

Despite this, local authorities have been forced to cut back on provision after Whitehall funding was chopped.

Westminster council, which accounts for more than a third of all rough sleepers in London, is planning to cut almost a million pounds in help to homeless people over the next two years.

Karen Buck, Labour's welfare spokeswoman, said the study "painted a depressing picture on the eve of massive negative changes in housing benefit and support which seem certain to damage the lives of the most vulnerable people in the community".

A government spokesman said that ministers had put aside £400m over the next four years to help the homeless and the coalition's social housing reforms would allow councils to respond to local needs. He added that there would be no U-turn over proposed welfare cuts.

"Our reforms will return fairness to a system which is spiralling out of control, where currently some benefit claimants are claiming over £30,000 a year to live in large houses in expensive areas, which ordinary hard-working families cannot afford."