534
Women’s Housing and Land Rights in an Urbanizing World
Abstract Submissions Closed
RC43 Housing and Built Environment (host committee)
Language: English
Session Type: Oral
Adequate housing is a key element of everyone’s right to an adequate standard of living, recognized by international human rights law. Yet the world is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, with over one billion people inadequately housed. It is widely recognized now, that women are more likely than men to become homeless and live in inadequate conditions due to a combination of factors that range from discriminatory laws, policies and practices, to social and economic disadvantages. They are the worst affected in forced evictions, resettlement schemes, slum clearance, domestic violence, civil conflicts, discriminatory inheritance laws and practices, development projects and globalization policies. While most existing work on gender and land rights focuses on rural contexts, gender remains neglected or is treated in an oversimplified way in much of the published work dedicated to urban land and housing.
The purpose of this session is to highlight the relationship that women have with housing and land rights in urban areas. Presentes are invited to provide an overview of the housing and land rights violations or challenges experienced by women, particularly those related to multiple layers of discrimination including class, ethnicity, and civil status. The session will shed light on methodological approaches used to conduct analysis of housing issues, and on the implications for laws, policies and practices of addressing the gap between the de jure and the de facto protection of women’s housing and land rights. The session will be chaired by Dr. Edith Jimenez Huerta, University of Guadalajara.