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COHRE Women and Housing Rights Programme: ISSUE BRIEF SIX

Women and Housing Rights:Basic Human Rights Standards. 1Why Does Gender Matter?.........4Current Issues in Women’sHousing Rights..........................6The Human Right to AdequateHousing......................................8Regional Human RightsStandards in Support of Women’sHousing Rights.........................10

Contents

Women and Housing Rights

ISSUE BRIEF

Human rights apply to everyone, everywhere,regardless of sex, race, religion or any otherdistinction or status. The human right to adequatehousing is fundamental to living a life with dignity.Yet, throughout the world, we continue to see graveand massive violations of the right to adequatehousing; violations which themselves almost

Women and Housing Rights:Basic Human Right Standards

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Women’s Rightsto Equality andNon-Discrimination

Women and Housing Rights:

invariably lead to other serioushuman rights violations.Women suffer disproportionatelyfrom violations of their right toadequate housing, and this in turnaffects their enjoyment of theirrights to food, water, sanitation,health, education and security ofperson.

The right to adequate housing isenshrined in Article 25(1) of theUniversal Declaration of HumanRights and Article 11(1) of theInternational Covenant onEconomic, Social and CulturalRights. The UniversalDeclaration of Human Rightsrecognised in 1948 that everyonehas the right to an adequate

Women have a rights to genderequality, and to live lives free of

discrimination basedon gender.

Gender discriminationrefers to thesystematic,

unfavorable treatment ofindividuals on the basis of theirgender that denies them rights,opportunities or resources; it is adifference in treatment of peoplebased their gender. Equalitybetween women and men

(gender equality) refers to theequal rights, responsibilities andopportunities of women and menand girls and boys.

Gender equality also implies thatthe interests, needs and prioritiesof both women and men aretaken into consideration,recognising the diversity ofdifferent groups of women andmen. Gender equality is not a‘women’s issue’ but shouldconcern and fully engage men aswell as women.

Women and HousingRights in InternationalHuman Rights Law

standard of living for themselvesand their families, includingadequate food, clothing, housing,water and sanitation, and to thecontinuous improvement of living

conditions. GeneralComment No. 4 on theright to adequatehousing, adopted by theUnited Nations

Committee on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights is the mostcomprehensive and authoritativelegal interpretation of the humanright to adequate housing to date,as it is meant to give definition tothe rights and obligations

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Basic Human Rights Standards

Women confront gender-baseddiscrimination in numerousaspects of housing, includingpolicy development;management and control offamily assets; and ability to own,inherit and possess property.Equality and non-discriminationare bedrock principles on whichadvocacy on behalf of women’sequal housing, land andproperty rights is itselfpremised. Policies and laws thatdo not recognise women’sunique needs and do not giveemphasis to women’s equalityalso violate women’s rights toadequate housing.

Gender neutral is a term usedto describe an approach toplanning or policy development

which treats womenand men as if they arehomogenous and doesnot take intoconsideration their

different needs, social positionsand roles.  Experience has shownthat gender neutral planning oftenaddresses only the needs of thedominant group, and does notmake effective change for women.

articulated in Article 11(1) of theInternational Covenant onEconomic, Social and CulturalRights (ICESCR) relevant tohousing. Through this GeneralComment, the Committee putsforth the view that the right toadequate housing should not beinterpreted in a narrow orrestrictive sense which equates itwith, for example, the shelterprovided by merely having a roof

over one’s head or with viewsdefining shelter exclusively as acommodity. Rather, it notes thatthe right to adequate housingshould be seen holistically,encompassing the right to livesomewhere in security, peace anddignity.

While the internationalcommunity has long understoodthe right to adequate housing tobe a fundamental human right,and while there now exist severalinternational instruments whichrecognise and protect housingrights, much work remains tomake the full enjoyment housingrights a reality for the world’spoor, including for women.

Why Being‘Gender Neutral’ isnot Enough

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Why Does Gender Matter?

For women in particular,housing rights are intimatelyconnected to their security,health, and well being. If theyare unable to fully enjoy theirhousing rights, women cannotbe the architects of their owndestiny, they cannot exercisetrue independence, and theybecome vulnerable to a myriadother human rights violations.Throughout the world, securingwomen’s rights to housing andland is fundamental toimproving women’s status, and

their lives. To achieve this, it isimportant for women’s right tobe recognised and securedindependently, so that theirhousing security is not dependenton their relationship with a male.Only by gaining this autonomywill women be truly able to enjoytheir right to adequate housingon the basis of equality.

Women’s IndependentAccess to AdequateHousing

Security of tenure encompass-es the right to own, inherit,rent, lease and remain on one’sland or in one’s house andprotection from forcedeviction. For women, securityof tenure is often especiallyprecarious because women maynot be able to independentlyaccess their homes and the landon which they live. Tenure isconsidered secure only if itprotected in law (includingconstitutional guarantees), as

opposed to reliance on merecustom, tradition, or the whimsof governmental authorities.

For women, tenure security islinked to economic security andsurvival; that is, loss of tenurenot only means loss of housing,but also often loss oflivelihood. Tenure insecuritymeans exclusion fromownership, access and controlover housing and land, as wellas exclusion from the processesby which rights to housing andland are allocated, secured andenforced/protected.

Women and Securityof Tenure

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Why Does Gender Matter?

Understanding the Connections to Housing Rights

Women often endure gender-based violence within variouscontexts and housing insecuritycontributes to and exacerbateswomen’s vulnerability toviolence. Violence againstwomen is a universal problemthat manifests itself in differentforms in every country andculture. In all corners of theworld, victims of domesticviolence face the stark choice ofeither living on the street orbeing beaten by a partner. Inmany cases, victims of domesticviolence have difficulty access-

ing alternative housing becauseof lack of domestic violenceshelters and transitional housingprogrammes.

Forced evictions also represent abrutal violation of theright to adequatehousing, and haveparticular ramific-ations for women. In

the midst of the violence andchaos which often accompaniesforced evictions, private actorsand State security forces,including the police, oftenperpetrate acts of physical andsexual abuse and harassmentagainst women and girls.

In many developing countries,access to land andnatural resourcesforms the basis ofsocial, political andeconomic well-being,and is fundamental to

housing security. Women’srelationship to the home and theland are unique, and violationsof that relationship haveconsequences for women whichare similarly unique. Lessonsfrom various land reform pro-

cesses demonstrate that womenare often excluded asbeneficiaries of agrarian landreform. The continuousdisregard for joint ownership, aswell as single female heads ofhouseholds, contributes to theunder-representation of womenas beneficiaries of agrarian landreform. Proactive measuresmust consider gender equalityas a specific and central objective ofland reform.

Women’sRights to Access and Control over Land

The Links Between HousingSecurity and Violence

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Current Issues in Women’s Housing Rights:

According to UNAIDS,women comprise over 50 percent of the total number of

HIV/AIDS infectedindividuals, yetglobally they possessunder 15 per cent ofthe world’s land, and

about 1 to 2 per cent of landtitles. In certain States, girls aremuch more vulnerable to HIVinfection than boys. Certaincategories of women are alsoparticularly vulnerable to

infection, such as impoverishedwomen, sex workers, minoritygroups, refugees and theinternally displaced. One of thegreatest obstacles HIV/AIDSinfected women is their inabilityto secure housing, land andproperty. This results in theirimpoverishment, particularly incultures which may humiliate orshun HIV/AIDS infectedwomen and girls. In many cases,subsequent to the HIV/AIDSrelated deaths of male partners ordisclosure of their HIV/AIDSstatus, women are divested oftheir marital property,livelihoods, and at times eventheir children, by in-laws whoforcibly evict them from theirhomes and lands.

Gender biased policies infinancing generally, and housingin particular, are furtherstructural barriers to women’saccess to housing, land andproperty. Rules and proceduresof financial institutions forloans, mortgages and otherforms of credit in both theformal and informal sectorsmay disadvantage women inacquiring credit for housing andother types of investment in thehousing sector.

Lending institutions make gender-biased assumptions regardingwomen’s literacy levels and abilityto repay loans. Financial

institutions are usuallyunlikely to give loansto low-income women,or have incomerequirements such as

large collateral, requirements oftitle, long-term repayment andproof of income that disqualifyand ultimately discriminate againstpoor women.

Women’sAccess toFinancial Resources for Housing

Women’s Housingand Land Rightswithin the Context ofHIV/AIDS

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Empowering Standards and Strategies

they may be subject to increasedrisk of gender-basedviolence as theyventure out in searchof water.

General CommentNo. 15 of the United NationsCommittee on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights on the rightto water notes that States shouldtake steps to ensure that womenare not excluded from decision-making processes concerningwater resources and entitlements.The disproportionate burdenwomen bear in the collection ofwater should be alleviated.

Research has clearly shown thatwhen women’s housing rightsare respected and protected –including when women and girlsare able to inherit and controlhousing, land and property –women and girls are better ableto cope with the detrimentaleffects of HIV/AIDS. Housingsecurity leads to better livingconditions, access to livelihoodand access to education.

In most of the world, genderroles demand that women spenda great deal of time in the home,nurturing children and caring forthe needs of their families.Household responsibilities alsorequire women and girls to attendto various household chores,including providing, and using,water for a variety of purposes.Moreover, because women andgirls are usually responsible forcollecting water for the family’suse, regardless of the distance,

-Testimony provided toCOHRE by a woman living

with HIV in Ghana

Women and theRight to Waterand Sanitation

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The Human Right to Adequate Housing:

Housing must be situated so as to allow access to employmentoptions, health care services, schools, childcare centres and other socialfacilities. The location of housing is especially vital for women to allow them theopportunities to fulfil other fundamental rights and achieve gender equality.

Substantive gender equalityentails that rights must beinterpreted and implemented in amanner that ensures to womenequal exercise and enjoyment oftheir rights. Substantively equalenjoyment of rights cannot beachieved through the merepassage of laws or promulgationof policies that are gender-neutral on their face. De jureequality (i.e. in law) does not, byitself, provide de facto equality.De facto equality (i.e. in fact or inpractice), or substantive equality,requires that rights beinterpreted, and that policies and

programs be designed in waysthat take women’s sociallyconstructed disadvantage intoaccount, that secure for womenthe equal benefit, in real terms,of laws and measures, and thatprovide equality for women intheir material conditions.

Location

Women and the Rights to de Facto and de Jure Equality

Housing must allow for the expression of cultural identity andrecognise the cultural diversity of the world’s population. Women must begiven the chance to effectively participate the planning of housing to ensure a reflectionof their cultural identity, and women must also be able to have a say in the creationand interpretation of cultural norms related to housing.

Cultural Adequacy

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Ensuring a Gender-Sensitive Approach

General Comment No. 4 of theUN Committee on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights onadequate housing stipulates 7elements comprising the right toadequate housing. First amongthese is the right to security oftenure. Secure tenure protectspeople against arbitrary forcedeviction, harassment and otherthreats. Tenure security for women isoften dependent upon their relationshipto a male. Victims of domestic violence,without legal claim in the home andfacing obstacles to obtaining housing ontheir own, must often face the choice ofhomelessness or remaining prisoners ofviolence.

Adequate housing requiresaccess to potable water, energyfor cooking, heating andlighting, sanitation, washingfacilities, food storage, refusedisposal, drainage andemergency services. When theseservices are unavailable, it placesa disproportionate burden onthe shoulders of women. Theimportance of the proximateavailability of these services is clear,considering the reality of manywomen’s daily lives, often bearing theprimary responsibility for the care ofhousehold, children and other familyor community members.

For housing to be affordable,the amount a person or familypays for their housing must notbe so high that it threatens orcompromises the attainment andsatisfaction of other basic needs.This provision must be interpreted sothat women, often economicallymarginalised, are able to affordadequate housing through appropriatecredit and financing schemes. Forhousing to be habitable,inhabitants must be ensuredadequate space and protectionagainst the elements and threats

to health. In this respect, women mustalso be protected from domestic violence,a clear threat to their wellbeing. Forhousing to be accessible, it mustbe accessible to disadvantagedand marginalised groups. Womenare also a traditionally disadvantagedgroup vis-à-vis housing, due to societaland cultural discrimination andsubordination. Women with disabilitiesor HIV/AIDS are even furthermarginalised. As such, States’ mustundertake specific measures to addressthe needs of specific groups of women.

Affordability,Habitabilityand Accessibility

Security of TenureAvailability ofServices

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Regional Human Rights Standards

In the Americas, the AmericanConvention on Human Rightsrecognises the right of non-discrimination on the basis of sex(Article 1), as well as the rights toproperty (Article 21) and privacy(Article 11). Also in the Inter-American system, theConvention of Belém do Pará isthe sole legally bindinginternational instrument onviolence against women. It is asignificant treaty because it grantswomen a right of petition theInter-American Commission onHuman Rights on issues ofgender-based violence. The caseof Maria Eugenia Morales de Sierrav. Guatemala dealt, inter alia, with

the issue of the property rights ofmarried women. In this case, theCommission found thatGuatemala’s national lawssubordinating a wife’s control of

jointly held property tothat of her husbandwas a violation ofGuatemala’s humanrights obligations

under the American Convention.According to the Commission,Article 1 of the AmericanConvention imposes negative andpositive obligations on the State,meaning that the State must takeproactive steps to ensurewomen's equality in practice.

The revised Arab Charter onHuman Rightsprotects civil,political, economic,social and culturalrights. It upholds the

right to non-discrimination, theright to equal treatment, and theright to privacy. The revisedCharter states: “Men andwomen have equal humandignity and equal rights andobligations in the framework ofthe positive discrimination

established in favour of womenby the Islamic Shariah ...Accordingly, each State Partypledges to take all the requisitemeasures to guarantee equalopportunities and effectiveequality between men andwomen in the enjoyment of allthe rights set out in thisCharter.” The revised Chartercontains a provision on the rightto own property (Article 31) andthe right to housing (Article 38).

Women andHousing Rightsin the League of Arab States

Women and HousingRights in theInter-AmericanSystem

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in Support of Women’s Housing Rights

The Charter of FundamentalRights of the European Unioncontains numerous equality andnon-discrimination provisions(Articles 20, 21 and 23) as wellas a clause on the right tohousing (Article 34 (3)). TheEuropean Social Charter(revised) also underscores theright of all persons to non-discrimination and contains aspecific provision on the rightto housing (Article 31).

COHRE’s mission is toensure the full enjoyment ofthe human right to adequate

housing for everyone,everywhere, including

preventing forced evictions ofpersons, families and

communities from theirhomes or lands.

The African Charter onHuman and People’s Rights,stipulates that the rightsenshrined within it apply to allpersons regardless of sex, thatall are entitled to equality beforethe law, and that all are obligedto treat others withoutdiscrimination. The Protocol tothe African Charter on Humanand People’s Rights on the

Rights of Women in Africaobliges States Parties to take allappropriate measures topromote women’s access to andcontrol over productiveresources such as land andguarantee their right to property(Article 19), articulates the rightsof widows in terms oftreatment, custody of children,and remarriage (Article 20), andstipulates that “a widow shallhave the right to an equitableshare in the inheritance of theproperty of her husband....”(Article 21).

Women andHousing Rightsin the EuropeanSystem

Women and HousingRights in the AfricanSystem

About UsRegional Human Rights Standards

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The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)Women and Housing Rights Progtamme

83 rue de Montbrillant1202 Geneva, Switzerland

Phone: +41.22.734.1028 · Fax:+41.22.733.8336 · Email: women@cohre.orgwww.cohre.org/women