A/HRC/19/53 2009.9 Due to gender-based discrimination in mortgage lending, women in the United States – and ethnic minority women, in particular – were 32 per cent more likely than men to be targets of sub-prime and predatory lenders, despite having on average higher credit scores.10 15. Similar concerns were also echoed across other regions. For example, in Spain, where foreclosures have soared during the last three years, women participating in the econsultation reported that poor women and their families have been especially impacted, and that they continue to ―experience the devastating effects of the economic crisis at close quarters.‖ As in other countries, those hit the hardest by cuts to social programmes have been those women already marginalized. The consequences of foreclosure for women are similar to what has been documented in terms of the impact of forced evictions, namely increased social isolation, increased exposure to domestic violence, and deepened poverty. 16. This negative impact has also certainly been felt by women living in other countries and regions. In Africa, for example, the consultation highlighted that since the onset of the global financial crisis, reductions in foreign aid, as well as foreign direct investments and remittances, have directly resulted in significant cutbacks in national-level housing programmes. In addition, the recent growth in land grabbing and the sale of formerly communal lands to foreign investors has made women‘s access to land even more difficult, and also jeopardizes directly their rights to adequate housing, water and sanitation, food and health. 17. Urgent progress must be made if women are to see improvements in their actual housing situations. However, what we have seen is far from what is required. In fact, within the context of the global financial crisis there has been a worrying move away from human rights standards, such as those requiring allocation of the maximum of available resources towards the realization of the right to adequate housing, or prioritizing marginalized women in all matters related to housing law, policy and programming. Rather, the trend has been towards increased privatization and further deregulation of the housing market, a move which leaves millions of women at the periphery, unable to access adequate housing. This situation not only perpetuates women‘s poverty, it also reinforces women‘s second-class status and gender inequality itself. Recent advancements for women’s right to adequate housing at international and national levels B. 18. While the financial crisis looms heavy, it is important to recognize that some significant legal, policy and judicial progress has been achieved in recent years which increasingly recognizes and protects women‘s right to adequate housing. This section highlights some of the recent successes in the fight for women‘s equal right to adequate housing, including on issues related to inheritance, divorce, land and property at international, regional and national levels. While not meant to be a comprehensive account of all of the advancements that have been made, each of the laws, policies, frameworks, decisions and/or judicial decisions highlighted below has had positive attributes from the standpoint of women‘s right to adequate housing, as well as their right to equality. 9 10 6 Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), ―Foreclosures by Race and Ethnicity: The Demographics of a Crisis‖, CRL Research Report, prepared by Debbie Gruenstein Bocian, Wei Li, and Keith S. Ernst (18 June 2010). See also: A/HRC/13/20/Add.4, para. 64. National Council for Research on Women, ―NCRW Big Five: Women, Homeownership, and SubPrime Mortgages—A Need for Fair Lending Practices‖ Fact Sheet, (New York, 12 September 2011).