A/HRC/19/53 particularly in cultures which have a propensity to humiliate or shun HIV/AIDS infected women and girls. In many cases, subsequent to the HIV/AIDS related deaths of male partners or disclosure of their HIV/AIDS status, women are divested of their marital property, inheritance rights, livelihoods, and at times even their children, by relatives who forcibly evict them from their homes.‖55 Yet, access to housing and land can also serve as a pivotal means by which to improve the lives of women affected by HIV/AIDS. There is growing evidence to suggest that where women‘s right to adequate housing is upheld, women are far better able to mitigate the negative impacts of AIDS, and that enjoyment of this right may even help to prevent further spread of HIV/AIDS by promoting women‘s economic security and empowerment.56 This example shows how the needs of women who are especially marginalized and disadvantaged must be prioritized. Cultural adequacy 52. Culturally adequate housing allows for the expression of cultural diversity, yet too often women are excluded from being able to shape that cultural identity and to participate in traditional cultural decision-making structures. In order to ensure that women‘s voices and visions are reflected, women must be able to effectively participate in defining what adequate housing means to them within their particular context, and to ensure that housing addresses not only their practical, material needs, but also their needs vis-à-vis autonomy, equality and dignity. In order to achieve this, women must be seen as partners in the creation and interpretation of cultural norms related to housing and land. The Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) has spearheaded innovative efforts specifically designed to utilize cultural structures to protect women‘s rights, including to adequate housing.57 IV. Overcoming gaps in implementation 53. Legislation and gender-sensitive housing law, policy and programming are only the first step. Even where good laws and policies are in place, an important challenge remains in translating them fully into practice. Unfortunately, in terms of implementation, progress has remained slow. Indeed, during the consultation process for this report, it became clear that even in places where good laws exist, discriminatory social and customary norms continue to hinder the enjoyment of women‘s right to adequate housing. 54. The existing gaps are complex and difficult to overcome as they are deeply rooted in culture, discriminatory social attitudes and practices, as well as weak or gender-blind systems which delay progress in the realization of the right, and fail to effectively make visible the existing barriers. Those challenges require more than ordinary efforts to enforce laws and put policies into practice; additional actions directed to provoke those changes in cultural patterns are required, and this can be obtained particularly through the combination of awareness-raising and public education, as well as through legal enforcement and legal aid, and provision of appropriate resources through the adoption of specific budgetary measures. 55 56 57 16 The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Shelter from the Storm: Women’s Housing Rights and the Struggle against HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa (Geneva, 2009). See: Richard S. Strickland, ―To Have and To Hold: Women‘s Property and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa‖, (International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) Working Paper (June 2004). The Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN), ―Guide on Working With Cultural Structures to Resolve Disputes‖, (December 2010).