A/HRC/7/16 page 13 III. THE REALIZATION OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR SPECIFIC GROUPS A. Women and adequate housing 36. Through his work, the Special Rapporteur has placed particular emphasis on the gender dimension of the right to adequate housing. In its resolution 2002/49 entitled “Women’s equal ownership of access to and control over land and the equal rights to own property and to adequate housing”, the Commission on Human Rights entrusted the Special Rapporteur with the additional task of conducting a global study on women and adequate housing. 37. To achieve this objective, the Special Rapporteur conducted a range of dialogues with States and civil society, elaborated a questionnaire on women and adequate housing,23 and organized seven regional consultations, reflected in his three reports on this question.24 38. Critical factors affecting women’s rights to adequate housing and land are lack of secure tenure; lack of information about women’s human rights; lack of access to affordable social services; lack of adequate laws safeguarding women’s equal rights to housing, land, property and inheritance; lack of access to credit and housing subsidies; bureaucratic barriers preventing access to housing programmes; rising poverty and unemployment; and discriminatory cultural and traditional practices. The Special Rapporteur notes that a State’s obligation to eliminate gender discrimination is one of immediate effect and failure to do so constitutes a human rights violation. 39. There is an urgent need to address multiple forms of discrimination that women face on grounds including race, class, ethnicity, caste, health status, disability, income, sexual orientation, and other factors. An intersectional approach to gender discrimination is essential to address the multiple forms of discrimination faced by women.25 Other categories of women may face further discrimination due to their status, including women affected by domestic violence, women in rural and remote areas, women affected by HIV/AIDS, pregnant women, women with newborn children, and single women, including single mothers. 40. The work on women and housing has clearly demonstrated the clear link between violence against women and the human right to adequate housing, and the crucial importance of an intersectional approach to the problem. In its resolution 2005/25, the Commission on Human 23 See A/HRC/4/18, annex III or the Special Rapporteur’s web page on women and housing available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/women.htm. 24 E/CN.4/2003/55, E/CN.4/2005/43 and E/CN.4/2006/118 also available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/women.htm. 25 Study by the Special Rapporteur on Women and adequate housing, E/CN.4/2005/43.