Stop Violence Against Women
From Women's Human Rights Online Bulletin November 2005
- Hot Topic - Housing Rights
All over the world, including here in the US, survivors of domestic violence are forced to choose between escaping their abuser and keeping a roof over their and their children’s heads. The U.S. section of Amnesty International (AIUSA) is beginning a research project on the relationship between domestic violence and lack of adequate housing, due to be released in 2007. As part of its preparation, AIUSA was one of eight coordinating organizations that, on behalf of UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Miloon Kothari, arranged for a North American Consultation on Women and Housing, held in October in Washington, DC. Mr. Kothari has already conducted consultations in South and East Asia, Central and South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa and will hold future consultations in North Africa, Middle East, East Europe and Central Asia.
Eight Canadian and ten American women testified to their housing experiences as domestic violence survivors, including how violence forces women to flee their homes; the kinds of housing discrimination domestic violence survivors face; loss of child custody as a result of domestic violence; legal and regulatory obstacles to obtaining adequate housing; and the effects of poverty, racism, and gender discrimination on access to housing. Mr. Kothari has addressed these concerns, saying:
The right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, has been widely recognized as an important human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The covenant, as well as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), also recognizes that women and men have equal rights to an adequate standard of living, which includes the right to adequate housing.
The lack of adequate housing available to women is attributable to a range of factors. Poverty is one of the main underlying causes of inadequate housing for women, and has been exacerbated by globalization, the trend towards privatization of services and markets, land speculation, and extreme poverty for many of the world’s women. Overcrowding and lack of water, sanitation and electricity are all felt disproportionately by women and are integrally linked to substandard housing. Additionally, women often bear the brunt of forced evictions due to their economic marginalization and increased vulnerability to violence.
Gender based violence and discrimination at the family, community, state, and global levels also affect women’s access to adequate housing. According to the United Nations, marginalized women often have less access to adequate housing than more privileged groups, and are particularly vulnerable to violence when they are without adequate housing. Such marginalized groups include single women, woman-headed households, widows, women from indigenous or minority communities, women living under occupation or in conflict situations, those who have been forcibly evicted, have faced domestic violence, migrant and domestic workers, girl children, elderly women, women living in extreme poverty, women with disabilities, and women with HIV/AIDS.
Housing rights are firmly entrenched in a number of international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICESCR, CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet, there still exists a serious shortage of domestic legislation regarding adequate housing. Where legislation does exist, it is rarely implemented, and many laws fail to recognize gender specific needs of individuals. The right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right, and one that particularly affects women and girls.
More resources on women and the right to adequate housing:
Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Center on Housing Rights
and Evictions
National Law Center on Homelessness
and Poverty
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