A/HRC/19/53 III. Gender-sensitive housing law, policy and programming: the right to adequate housing from a gender-equality perspective 30. Each of these advancements in law and policy represents an important achievement which ought to be celebrated. Yet, women throughout the world continue to face entrenched de jure and de facto barriers to the realization and enjoyment of this right. When it comes to women‘s right to adequate housing, much more needs to be done to ensure the effective domestication of human rights standards and the harmonization of national legislative frameworks with those international standards. In addition, the conceptual tensions which exist between ―progressive realization‖ on the one hand (which is applicable to the achievement of substantive rights contained within the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights versus the immediate obligation of States to ensure that women enjoy their rights to non-discrimination and equality on the other (as guaranteed under both the Covenant and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as other relevant treaties) must be addressed. 31. It is clear that the legal and policy barriers to women‘s enjoyment of their right to adequate housing must be removed, and replaced by laws, policies and programming which take a focused and proactive approach. Legislative and policy measures must be put in place at national and regional levels explicitly prioritizing women‘s right to adequate housing. In order to assist States and other relevant actors in the development of gendersensitive housing law, policy, and programming, the Special Rapporteur takes this opportunity to provide some guidance on a gender perspective on the elements of the right to adequate housing, through a gendered lens. Security of tenure 32. Security of tenure, as a cornerstone element of the right to adequate housing, provides legal protection against forced eviction, as well as harassment and other threats. For women, security of tenure is too often tenuous and secondary because it is assumed to be achieved through their relationship with a male – be it their husband, father, brother, or son. This situation falls far short of the standard, and gaps in protection are easily exposed. For many women, once that relationship with a male family member is severed through death or divorce, they are immediately vulnerable to being forced out of their homes. As we know, this is the case for widows who are routinely ―disinherited‖ after the death of their husbands, as well as for women victims of domestic violence where a woman‘s housing situation depends on her relationship to her abuser. 33. In addition, mass forced evictions which take place at the hands of State authorities or third party actors also impact women disproportionately.37 In 2000, the then Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women wrote: Violence occurring in relation to forced eviction starts before the eviction process. Psychological stress on learning about the eviction can destabilize the family atmosphere and cause emotional trauma. (…) During the eviction, verbal abuse and beatings, rape and even killing are common. The destruction of the home and the 37 In its resolution 2004/28 on forced evictions, the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights recalled that while certain groups were more vulnerable to forced eviction because of social exclusion and discrimination, the fact remains that ―women in all groups are disproportionately affected, given the extent of statutory and other forms of discrimination which often apply in relation to the property rights of women, including home ownership and rights of access to property of accommodation, and given the particular vulnerability of women to acts of gender-based violence and sexual abuse when they are rendered homeless.‖ See also: E/CN.4/2004/48 and A/HRC/4/18. 11