COHRE A Place In The World - English

A Place in the World The Right to Adequate Housing as an Essential Element of a Life Free from Domestic Violence

The Cases of Argentina, Brazil and Colombia English Summary

Acknowledgements The Women and Housing Rights Initiative of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) wishes to express its deepest gratitude to those organization and individuals who provided information and assisted us during the preparation of this report, including Themis, Adescop, the AsoyMujer Association, the Bureau for Women and Armed Conflict and the Reason Foundation. We would also like to thank Ms. Liliana Bernal Vargas and Ms. Claudia Acosta for their kind assistance and support.

Finally, and above all, we would like to thank those individual women with whom we spoke who were themselves either facing, or fleeing, situations of domestic violence.

These women bravely and generously shared their experiences and their time with us in the hopes that their stories could help bring about a change whereby all women could live within a home of their own in security, peace and dignity. It is to these courageous women than we dedicate this report. To all, our most sincere thanks.

Introduction

"I did not even have the money to pay rent and no money to meet my expenses.

These are factors that exacerbated my circumstances of life. He would ask me, where was I going to go? ‌ � A Woman Survivor of Domestic Violence from Moreno, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

COHRE’s research in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia has revealed that lack of access to adequate housing solutions, including emergency shelter, prevents victims of domestic violence from leaving their abusers. The experiences of the women COHRE interviewed clearly illustrates just how critical it is for women to have a safe place to go should they decide to break the cycle of violence. This problem particularly affects poor women living in urban slum communities who lack independent financial means, and who simply have no place to turn where they can find safety. Indeed, for victims of domestic violence, housing is not a peripheral issue, or an issue that can be postponed for resolution later on. Rather, for women who fear for their safety and for their lives, housing is an immediate and pivotal issue on which the question of escape itself rests. The current situation, wherein women must chose between a life on the street, or a life with a violent abuser, is entirely unacceptable. It is a situation which runs counter to internationally recognized human rights standards and principles, and which must be addressed and corrected by Governments as a matter of priority.

When asked by COHRE what solutions they would recommend, victims of domestic violence were clear in their reply: Governments must respond effectively and coherently to the pervasive problem of domestic violence, and they must ensure that women fleeing violence have an adequate, safe housing alternative.

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Under international human rights law and standards, victims of domestic violence do have the right to live free from such violence, and to have access to legal protection and redress. Similarly, victims of domestic violence also have a right to the resources necessary to support themselves and their children, including the right to adequate housing. The right to adequate housing itself goes beyond the right to have a roof over one’s head, and encompasses the right of each individual person to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity. This concept is essential to changing the situation for women who suffer violence within their own homes. Yet, despite the protections which exist in international human rights law, COHRE has learned that the stark reality for many women remains very different.

For too long, the link between domestic violence and the right to adequate housing has been largely neglected by policy makers, and only recently has the issue attracted increased attention through the human rights bodies and Special Mechanisms of the United Nations. In this report, COHRE has sought to gauge whether women’s housing rights issues have been taken into consideration in public policies designed to combat domestic violence, particularly within Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. The answer invariably has been: almost not at all. While most countries in Latin America have strikingly high rates of domestic violence,1 the safe housing options for women fleeing this violence are almost non‐existent. Most women fleeing violence told COHRE that they would have little alternative that to move in with a friend or a relative for a short period of time, often in the immediate aftermath of a violent episode. But, as time went on, and finding themselves unable to secure a permanent or even transitional housing solution, these women would more often than not have little choice other than to return to live with their abuser. Even for those women who were able to access one of the very few available battered women’s shelters, their experiences similarly underscore that ‐‐ while these emergency shelters provide a critical service to women ‐‐ these shelters nonetheless do not equal a permanent housing solutions for women victims of domestic violence.

Recognizing the policy gaps, COHRE has also sought in this report to present and reflect the lived experiences of abused women in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.

Their stories and testimonies illustrate the fact that domestic violence is a complicated and painful reality for many women. It is not always easy for women to leave their abuser; and it is not easy for a whole host of reasons. But, lack of housing alternatives should not be one of those reasons. Interviews with women victims of domestic violence show that not only is it critical for women to have safe places to go in cases of emergency, it is also critical for their housing rights more generally to be recognized.

This means, for example, ensuring that women are able to stay in their matrimonial home, and to have the abuser removed from the home. It also means ensuring that women living in informal settlements have security of tenure over their homes, and that the police effectively protect women living in these communities.

1 In terms of domestic violence, between 30 and 60% of women in the region have suffered from domestic violence. However, these figures cannot be said to be conclusive since many women in the region do not report the violence they suffer.

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Finally, COHRE has sought through this work to present policy recommendations to international institutions and governments, so that the relevant authorities operating at various levels take into consideration women’s right to adequate housing in the design of relevant policies and programs designed to combat domestic violence.

Similarly, we believe that it is also critical for housing policies and programs to integrate, reflect and visibilize the immediate and long‐term needs of victims of domestic violence.

Methodology and Demographics For this study, in‐depth fact‐finding missions were carried out by COHRE in three countries in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. These missions were implemented primarily in order speak with women who have experienced domestic violence first‐hand.2 Secondary data collection for this report was also conducted, primarily through a literature review of numerous documents, reports and articles produced by international, regional and national agencies and experts on of patterns of domestic violence within the region, and the policies developed to address domestic violence. This information was further supplemented by interviews with experts, advocates and elected officials in our countries of focus.

The choice of Argentina, Brazil and Colombia as case countries reflects the orientation of COHRE’s Women and Housing Rights Initiative in the region of Latin America.

Argentina, Brazil and Colombia have been longstanding countries of focus for COHRE's work in Latin America generally, and thus it was logical for us to build on our prior experiences and strengthen our work and networks within each of these countries.

Each country demonstrates a unique situation for women facing domestic violence and each one offers a unique contribution to our understanding of the nexus between women’s housing rights and domestic violence. Brazil, for example, through the landmark Maria da Penha law, serves as an example of a country with clear and marked legal progress in relation to domestic violence, while at the same time often lacking adequate housing solutions for victims. Colombia illustrates the situation of women facing domestic violence within an already extremely insecure housing situation characterized by mass forced eviction and displacement. Argentina, with it emerging protections and institutions addressing domestic violence, illustrates some of the gaps in protection which women victims of domestic violence often encounter in relation to housing.

Fieldwork was conducted in the cities of Bogota and Villavicencio in Colombia; the City of Buenos Aires and the town Moreno (in the Province of Buenos Aires) in Argentina; and the city of Porto Alegre in Brazil. In total, 60 in‐depth interviews with women victims of domestic violence were conducted. These interviews were semi‐structured in nature and supplemented by several focus group discussions. In the lead‐up to the 2 The following topics were discussed in the interviews: the relationship between a woman’s security of tenure and domestic violence; a woman’s level of economic independence; access to justice and law enforcement; women’s experiences in domestic violence shelters; and the situation of women in situations of forced eviction and displacement.

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study, COHRE appealed for assistance to women's organizations and social workers in the region who work directly with women victims of domestic violence, in order to facilitate access to this otherwise hidden and difficult to reach population. For this reason, COHRE primarily spoke with women who, while they had unfortunately suffered or were currently in a violent relationship, were also receiving some assistance and support from local women’s groups. Thus, these women's stories highlighted the importance of empowerment and solidarity with other women who had also suffered domestic violence.

For its part, the study is limited to the experiences of women from lower economic strata; that is to say, from low to very low income women. Although domestic violence is a phenomenon that affects all groups of women across the different social strata, it is disproportionately women of this economic demographic who seek social assistance from women’s advocacy organizations and shelters. As such, most of the women interviewed by COHRE live in the slums and informal settlements of the cities and towns in which they live. Not surprisingly, these women faced significant housing‐ related problems which may not be experienced in the same way or at the same level as with more affluent or economically independent women victims of domestic violence.

Of the women COHRE interviewed, some women were in legally recognized marriages, while others were in what could be referred to as common law marriages or long term relationships with their partners. The age range was wide, and the majority of women with whom COHRE spoke had suffered abuse within their intimate relationship for many years. Indeed, most women had been in their abusive relationship for more than five years, and some women had been abused for more than 20 years. Women interviewed by COHRE reported acts of physical violence by their intimate partners, as well as psychological and verbal abuse. More rarely did they speak openly in focus groups about sexual violence, although this issue was discussed in some of the one‐on‐ one interviews. Often, women did not identify economic violence as part of the pattern of abuse, although when asked about it most women agreed their abusers did use economic resources and assets, including access to housing, as a means of exerting power and control over them during the course of their relationship.

No Safe Place: The Experiences of Women Victims of Domestic Violence in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia The vast majority of the abused women with whom COHRE spoke experienced challenges in finding a place to live where they could be free from violence, and for some women this predicament alone sadly prevented them from fleeing their abusive relationship.

Women in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia told COHRE that they are often economically dependent on their abuser. This is not uncommon for women, particularly poor women whose work in and outside of the home either goes unremunerated or poorly remunerated. Even with a modest independent income, for most women this alone was not enough to equal economic independence. Indeed, in Latin America as in most

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of the world, the economic situation of women is a product of the historical and ongoing gender discrimination they suffer in patriarchal societies. Here, the traditional gendered division of labor has hampered the ability of women to access paid work on equal terms with men due in part to the unequal access of women to education and to formal employment. Consequently, the reality for many women, especially those in low income sectors, is that they depend on their male partners to cover most of the economic expenses necessary for day to day life, including costs related to housing.

As one woman in Colombia who had been in an abusive relationship for 3 years explained to COHRE: “He covered all our costs related to transport, food and housing.”

In some cases, women also reported to COHRE that they were forbidden by their husband to work, a classic form of economic abuse used by perpetrators in domestic violence situations to enhance their power and control over their victim. Of women interviewed who did work outside the home, only a small number did so in the formal sector. Some of these women were employed in shops, beauty salons or as teachers in schools.

The vast majority of those women who worked outside the home did so in the informal sector, namely through the sale of products made at home or as domestic workers. These kinds of jobs typically lack economic security, they are not well paid, and consequently most women depended on their partner to survive economically and to provide for the financial needs of the family. This situation has real implications for women’s housing security, or rather, lack of it. Indeed, economic dependence was noted as a major obstacle to breaking a violent relationship. As a logical extension, not being able to afford something as basic as a place to live ‐‐ other than the home shared with the abuser ‐‐ is a major obstacle to escape. In fact, in most cases women who identified economic dependence as a factor in their relationship also highlighted lack of access to housing as a serious barrier to breaking the cycle of violence. What is all too clear is that in these cases, the situation of women attempting to flee domestic violence illustrates the fatal flaw of public policies which view housing as a commodity rather than as a right. It is not hyperbole to say that it is a life or death issue for some women.

Women living in informal settlements and slums faced particular challenges.

Interestingly, women who were not living in overcrowded or otherwise inadequate conditions did not identify general living conditions as a factor aggravating domestic violence. In contrast, women living in slums and informal neighborhoods noted that the tension caused by inadequate living conditions (such as overcrowding and lack of privacy) spurred outbreaks of violence. This is consistent with the finding of the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Miloon Kothari, which highlighted: … Women living in situations of domestic violence inherently live in inadequate housing, due to the violence they face within the home. Factors such as density, poor habitability and lack of accessible civic services (water, electricity, sanitation) can further contribute to increasing the vulnerability of women to domestic violence. Many women in such situations are unable to remove the perpetrator from the house, due to the lack of family, community and State

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support. Further, many women are prevented from leaving violent situations, because alternative housing and financial support are unavailable. The lack of secure tenure also contributes to a woman’s decision to remain in an abusive situation. Many women who do manage to leave home become vulnerable to homelessness and further violence.”3 While it cannot, and should not, be said that inadequate housing conditions cause domestic violence, there is evidence that these conditions can aggravate or exacerbate that violence.

In Colombia, women also recounted that the insecurity of their neighborhoods was part of the equation for women when deciding to stay in a violent relationship, as single women were not well regarded in their communities, and at the same time were more prone to attacks by strangers, especially sexual assault. This reality of insecurity and vulnerability to violence within the community forced women essentially to have to choose between maintaining their violent relationship or suffering the consequences of being a woman alone in their homes.

Although Colombia has good laws on the books protecting women in cases of domestic violence, the reality remains that “rates of domestic violence [in Colombia] are alarming: Nearly 40 per cent of women have been attacked by their male companions.”4 Added to this reality is the ongoing crisis of displacement in Colombia, a human rights catastrophe spurred on by Colombia’s longstanding internal conflict. A Report by the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office on the tragedy of displacement recognizes that this "… is undoubtedly the greatest humanitarian tragedy the country has even seen. As a result of armed conflict in Colombia more than three million people have been forced to leave their homes for protection residence for their lives, their integrity and dignity."5 The Office of the Ombudsman, which conducted extensive field research in four departments in the country, gathered data about domestic violence suffered by women who had also suffered displacement and found that of 1,630 women surveyed, 32.7% had suffered physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner. By city, Pasto reported the highest percentage of female victims of domestic violence, 43.3%, followed by 41.6% in Medellín.6 Similar to women living in slums and informal settlements, displaced women in Colombia interviewed by 3 Miloon Kothari, ‘Women and Adequate Housing,’ Study by the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a Component of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living, and on the Right to Non‐ discrimination, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2005/42 (25 Feb. 2005).

4 UNICEF, ‘Colombia: The Big Picture: Background,’ available at: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/colombia_2660.html [accessed 27 June 2010].

5 Ombudsman’s Office, ‘Promoción y Monitoreo de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos de Mujeres Víctimas de Desplazamiento Forzado con Énfasis en Violencias Intrafamiliar y Sexual’ [Promotion and Monitoring of Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Women Victims of Forced Displacement, with Emphasis on Domestic and Sexual Violence], Bogotá, Colombia, 2008 6 During COHRE’s visit to Colombia, displaced women told their stories to us and explained that displacement worsened their situations of domestic violence. While many women experienced domestic violence before displacement, displacement aggravated their plight. Arrival in the cities and the economic hardship they endured meant that many women saw erosion in their social safety nets and increased tensions at home. Many women reported that the extra frustration which men felt and being unable to find work in the cities was later taken out on them.

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COHRE noted how conditions of displacement also aggravate and exacerbate domestic violence within their intimate relationships.

For this report, COHRE visited battered women’s shelters in Bogota, Colombia; Porto Alegre, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The sheer lack of battered women’s shelters in these three major cities of the region is striking. In Bogota, there is only one private shelter available to victims of domestic violence, called Hogar Michín. In Porto Alegre the situation is the same, with only one shelter catering to the needs of battered women, named Casa de Apoio Viva María. In Buenos Aires, there are solely two shelters, run by the government, where women can stay for a determined about of time (typically no more than six months, but with some exceptions). All of these shelters have a number of requirements for access, for example restrictions for entry to male children over a certain age and time limits.

Emergency housing alternatives for women such as battered women’s shelters are extremely important for women. At the same time, shelters alone do not ensure adequate housing to women in the long term. We can take the case of Argentina as an example. While Argentina lacks reliable nation‐wide statistical data in the area of domestic violence, the National Women's Council (Consejo Nacional de la Mujer: CNM) estimates that one in three Argentinean women will suffer from physical, psychological, sexual or economic abuse in her home.7 In Argentina, the Government reported recently to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that, “There is growing demand throughout the country to create and implement women's shelters. The National Women’s Council has conducted a nationwide inventory of public and private facilities, shelters and other means of protecting female victims of violence. There is a proposal to standardize shelter services. [Nationwide, t]here are 12 government shelters at the provincial level (including the City of Buenos Aires) and 12 municipal ones to meet specific needs in each jurisdiction.”8 In 2009, Argentina signed a new Integral Protection Act on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women.9 In regards the issue of housing, Article 10 of the law requires that the State promote and facilitate the creation of comprehensive assistance to victims which should “ensure emergency agencies for the care and shelter of women suffering violence in cases where their stay at home or residence implies an imminent threat to their physical, psychological or sexual wellbeing, or to the wellbeing of their family, and that these should prioritize the immediate integration of a woman to her family, social network and work.”10 7 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Argentina: Women victims of domestic violence; state protection and resources available to victims (2005 ‐ 2007), 17 January 2008, ARG102689.E, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47ce6d7ca.html [accessed 27 June 2010].

8 Government of Argentina, ‘Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Sixth periodic report of States parties: Argentina,’ UN Doc, CEDAW/C/ARG/6 (8 Sept. 2008).

9 The Act (No. 26485) expressly guarantees in its Section 3 all of the rights recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Inter‐American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (these standards are detailed further below).

10 Translation belongs to COHRE. 7

While the number of shelters is growing in Argentina, the underlying problem of housing insecurity for victims of domestic violence persists. It is important to note that battered women’s shelters represent only temporary and crisis solutions designed to alleviate emergency situations faced by abused women. Indeed, assistance programs such as these set strict conditions for eligibility and duration of stay, underscoring their status as interim and stopgap solutions. Women victims of domestic violence told COHRE that it is essential that the law provide for the creation of programs that allow access to a permanent housing solution for women who have lost their place of residence by breaking a violent relationship.

As such, while emergency shelters are absolutely essential for women, they alone cannot be the only policy solution for women escaping violence. Women with whom COHRE spoke admitted that while shelters are important and life�saving, living conditions in shelters are often not ideal simply due to the disruption that living there causes to the lives of women and their children. Many women did not feel that they could stay at a shelter for long periods of time. In fact, some women even spoke of tiring of life at the shelter. These women decided to return to their homes and resume their day to day lives, even if that meant returning home to their abuser.

Access to justice is another important theme emerging from our conversations with women victims of domestic violence in the three countries visited. The functioning of justice systems and the accessibility of legal protection is crucial for women who suffer violence because it is the authorities within the legal system who are responsible for issuing protection orders (i.e. restraining orders), as well as protection related to the enjoyment of housing rights. Thus, the laws of each country provide the authorities with jurisdiction for the implementation of decisions on the measures critical to women in situations of abuse.

A strong theme that appeared in the stories of women from the three countries was the difficulty of knowing and learning the path to justice. When they did try to seek help, women would often get the run around when seeking access legal protection, and would be shuffled from one agency to the next. Decentralization, or lack of coordination between agencies providing assistance to women, was a fundamental problem for women facing domestic violence, particularly in Argentina and Colombia.

It is a problem which denies women an effective and comprehensive response to their plight, and this situation forced women into an exhausting journey in search of help.

Women who lived in informal settlements felt that these obstacles were even more insurmountable for them, as law enforcement officials were even less inclined to take their complaint of domestic violence seriously.

Women in Brazil were the most satisfied with the functioning of police stations for women, and also with the overall system of justice in the county. In Brazil, it is estimated one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence in the course of her lifetime. Available statistics and records from police stations specialized in crimes against women indicate that 70% of assaults against women occur within their home, and more than 40% of acts of domestic violence result in serious bodily injury to women as a result of punching, hitting, kicking, burning, beating and strangulation.

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Brazil’s Law 11.340 is known as the ‘Marìa da Penha’ Law in honor of a survivor of domestic violence who lived through two murder attempts by her husband and became a symbol of the scourge of domestic violence within the country.11 Law 11.340 was adopted by the Government of Brazil in August 2006, and the law defines domestic violence as a human rights violation. In addition, the law provides for significant changes both in the definition of violence against women and in the legal, police, judicial, and social assistance sectors and processes aimed at preventing and punishing domestic violence. Brazil’s coordinated response to domestic violence is hailed as a model within the region, and from COHRE’s interviews with women in Brazil the law appears to be having positive effects for women in regards to accessing justice and ensuring protection from law enforcement.

Women in Colombia, on the other hand, had less faith in their justice system. For example, women complained that orders for protection could be received, but the duration for their enforcement was short. Police would enforce an order for protection for perhaps a couple of days, but after that when the abuser came around the police could not be counted on any more. Women in Argentina also expressed that it was very difficult for them to access justice due to the remoteness of legal institutions and poor attention by law enforcement to their problems.

Relevant International and Regional Human Rights Standards

"Violence against women directly affects survivors’ housing. In many instances, survivors of violence have remained in situations where they are vulnerable to abuse due to an inability to find appropriate accommodation." ‐ Handbook for Legislation on Violence Against Women United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for the Advancement of Women

While for many years the relationship between women’s housing rights and domestic violence remained almost entirely a silent crisis, today, international human rights standards are increasingly recognizing the connection between women’s housing insecurity and exposure to domestic violence. As Radhika Coomaraswamy, the former UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, noted in her 2000 report: “Housing policy is directly related to issues of violence against women …. Women who are economically dependent on their partner or their family are often faced with the dilemma of being abused or being homeless. Lack of shelter facilities forces up to 30 per cent of women who have fled domestic violence to

11 Marìa da Penha also brought and won a case against Brazil before the Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights, which found that the Government had failed to adequately protect her rights as a victim of domestic violence.

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return to their homes and thus to violence.”12 In 2003, the previous United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Miloon Kothari, described the close link between housing rights and violence against women as follows: “In most countries, whether developed or developing, domestic violence is a key cause of women’s homelessness and presents a real threat to women’s security of person and security of tenure. Many women continue to live in violent situations because they face homelessness if they resist domestic violence.”13 International human rights standards related to the right to adequate housing have interpreted this right as encompassing a place to live in peace, security and dignity, followed on by more specific criteria, among them legal security of tenure and habitability. Clearly, women suffering from violence in their homes do not live in peace, security and dignity. They often times lack security of tenure and their homes cannot be said to be safe. Thus, a gender‐sensitive perspective of the right to adequate housing needs to be developed so that offers protection to women suffering from domestic violence.

The good news is, some progress has been made.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been ratified

by Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. In 2005, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (an expert body which monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) issued its General Comment No. 16 on the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights. This General Comment made a critical connection between women’s ability to seek safety from domestic violence, and their ability to enjoy their housing rights.14 Through it, the Committee explicitly recognized that the enjoyment of human rights on the basis of equality between men and women must be understood comprehensively. In that regard, guarantees of non‐ discrimination and equality in international human rights treaties mandate both de jure (in law) and de facto (in fact or in practice) equality. The Committee noted that: Gender‐based assumptions and expectations generally place women at a disadvantage with respect to substantive enjoyment of rights, such as freedom to act and to be recognized as autonomous, fully capable adults, to participate fully in economic, social and political development, and to make decisions concerning their circumstances and conditions. Gender‐based assumptions

12 Radhika Coomaraswamy, ’Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences,’ submitted pursuant to Commission Resolution 1997/44, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2000/68/Add.5 (24 Feb. 2000), 13 Miloon Kothari, ‘Women and Adequate Housing,’ Study by the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a Component of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living, and on the Right to Non‐ discrimination, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2003/55 (26 Mar. 2003).

14 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ‘General Comment No. 16, Article 3: the Equal Right of Men and Women to the Enjoyment of all Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,’ UN Doc. E/C.12/2005/4 (2005).

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about economic, social and cultural roles preclude the sharing of responsibility between men and women in all spheres that is necessary to equality.15 On housing rights, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made a critical connection between women’s ability to seek safety from domestic violence, and their ability to enjoy their housing rights. The Committee held that the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requires States parties “to provide victims of domestic violence, who are primarily female, with access to safe housing.”16 This standard, therefore, represents a concrete legal obligation for those Governments which have ratified the Covenant, including Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.

The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is perhaps the most important international instrument protecting the equal rights of women, and it too has been ratified by Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. While the text of the treaty does not contain a single explicit reference to the problem of violence against women, the treaty has been interpreted to protect women from gender‐based violence, including domestic violence. General Recommendation No. 12 of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on violence against women recognizes that gender‐ based violence violated several articles of the Convention, including women’s rights to non‐discrimination, to work, health, and equality in family relations.

Later, in its General Recommendation No. 19, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women again expanded on the issue of violence against women and found that: "The definition of discrimination includes gender‐ based violence, that is, violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty. Gender‐based violence may breach specific provisions of the Convention, regardless of whether those provisions expressly mention violence."17 The case of Ms. A.T. v. Hungary (2003), dealing with a brutal situation of domestic violence, is particularly illustrative on the question of housing rights within the context of domestic violence. In this case, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women held that immediate and effective measures were necessary to guarantee the physical and mental integrity of the victim and her family, as well as to ensure that the victim was provided with a safe home, appropriate child support, and legal assistance. The Committee also held that an adequate emergency shelter system must be put in place to address the immediate needs of victims of domestic violence. COHRE similarly believes that such provisions are critical for

15 Ibid. para. 14.

16 Ibid. para. 27.

17 UN CEDAW Committee, ‘Violence against Women, General Recommendation No. 19,’ 11/1 (1992), UN Doc. A/47/38.

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women to live lives free from domestic violence, and that national domestic violence laws must likewise integrate and prioritize women’s housing rights.18 As we have seen, international standards increasingly recognize that access to an adequate, safe housing is a must for women victims of domestic violence.

Regional protections are also relevant. The Inter‐American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, known as the Convention of Belem do Para, was adopted by General Assembly of American States (OAS) in 1994. In those Latin American countries that have ratified the Convention and thus committed to its implementation, including Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, advocates have an important regional legal tool to combat violence against women in all its forms. The preamble of the Convention states that violence against women is a human rights violation. It is the only binding international instrument aimed specifically at combating gender‐based violence, and has provided a framework for amending the criminal codes and laws on violence against women in the region.

Article 3 of the Convention provides that "every woman has the right to live free of violence, at both public and private."19 Of special note is Article 8 of the Convention which notes that States Parties agree to undertake progressively specific measures, including programs “to provide appropriate specialized services for women who have been subjected to violence, through public and private sector agencies, including shelters, counseling services for all family members where appropriate, and care and custody of the affected children.”20 All of these international and regional human rights standards put together underscore the fact that not only do women victims of domestic violence have a right to adequate, safe housing, Governments also have a concrete duty to provide it.

Conclusions and Recommendations "For years, I have suffered violence from my partner ‐‐ insults, beatings, blows and outbursts. Today we hardly speak, just barely a word between us. I live in my locked room and him in his room, but we cannot get separated. " ‐

Woman interviewed by COHRE in Bogota, Colombia

Despite the many differences, particularities or special circumstances confronting each individual woman interviewed by COHRE, there was a clear consensus around the idea women simply must have an adequate, safe housing alternative if they are to flee

18 Ms. A.T. v Hungary, CEDAW Communication No. 2/2003, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/32/D/2/2003 (26 January 2005).

19 Inter‐American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women, 33 I.L.M. 1534 (1994), entered into force March 5, 1995.

20 Ibid, emphasis added.

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domestic violence. In order to remedy the current situation faced by women victims of domestic violence in relation to housing insecurity, COHRE inter alia recommends: 1.

Continued development by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and other international human rights bodies, of gender‐sensitive standards on the right to adequate housing. In particular, such standards should develop and illustrate the clear link between the right to adequate housing and the right to live free from domestic violence, and establish concrete protections for victims of domestic violence in relation to housing.

Adequate housing standards in general terms have been interpreted as a place to live in peace, security and dignity, followed on by more specific criteria, among them legal security of tenure and habitability. Clearly, as we have highlighted, women suffering from violence in their homes do not live in peace, security and dignity. They often times lack security of tenure and their homes cannot be said to be habitable. Thus, a gender‐sensitive perspective of the right to adequate housing needs to be developed in order to offer effective protection to women suffering from domestic violence.

Although there have been major advancements in the development of women’s housing rights, in the case of domestic violence much work lays ahead. Efforts must be made to continue the comprehensive development of human rights standards, including those which develop the conceptual links between the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by women and the elimination of domestic violence.

The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and other international human rights bodies should also request from States Parties information related to the housing rights protections for women victims of domestic violence, and the status of implementation of housing related policies and programs aimed at assisting this group of women. It is similarly important to deepen the analysis of public policies on housing from a gender‐sensitive perspective. Here, it is important for the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to underscore that housing policies that lack a gender perspective are violating the principle of gender equality enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, respectively. It is also essential for the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as other international human rights bodies, to urge States to take into account the impact on women when developing policies on housing, land and property, not only recommending the removal of formal barriers, but action aimed at redressing de facto unequal distribution and enjoyment.

2.

Strengthening of domestic violence legislation at national levels, in particular, so that such legislation explicitly guarantees the right to adequate housing for victims of domestic violence. Laws against domestic violence must recognize the

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right to adequate housing of victims of domestic violence. Such policies should guarantee women fleeing abuse a place to live with their children, and a minimum of financial resources that will allow them to achieve an adequate standard of living.

Protective measures should also include the exclusion of the abuser from the household and the right of the victim to remain within the home, even if not owned by her, at least until she is able to access alternative housing. It is essential in this regard to develop and deploy policies and programs for immediate assistance to women who need to leave their homes, or have already left their homes due to domestic violence.

In short, States must be required to ensure that women have an adequate, safe housing alternative for themselves and their children. Similarly, it is essential that women be provided with the information necessary on assistance programs available, including with respect to accessing of emergency battered women’s shelters. At the same time, States must ensure effective coordination among judiciary, police and those dedicated to providing emergency assistance to victims of domestic violence.

3.

Including analysis of information, data, and documentation on women’s access to alternative, adequate housing within studies, surveys or other research on domestic violence, as carried out by States or international and regional bodies.

States, as well as international and regional bodies should be encouraged to produce updated data and statistics on the situation of domestic violence in the region. This information ought to include data with respect to women’s enjoyment of their rights to housing, land and property within the context of domestic violence.

4.

Strengthening of housing rights legislation at national levels, so as to ensure that victims of domestic violence are prioritized in housing programs.

Housing policies and programs should ensure adequate attention to the needs of women victims of domestic violence, including women living in informal settlements, displaced women, or other marginalized groups of women. Here it is critical for States to establish programs which prioritize provision of adequate, safe housing to women victims of domestic violence, taking into account the unique obstacles they face. It is essential to include a gender‐sensitive perspective at the time of design, execution and implementation housing policy, as well as at the time of policy evaluation. At all stages, Governments should consult with women victims of domestic violence, as well as their advocates in order to assure that housing policies benefit women and do not negatively impact on the lives of women. Housing policies should also ensure legal security of tenure for women.

5.

Ensuring access to justice for women victims of domestic violence.

States must ensure provision of legal safeguards for victims of domestic violence, supported by adequately funded, coordinated and trained government organizations to assist women fleeing domestic violence situations.

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6.

Establishing mechanisms and strategies to raise awareness of the problem of domestic violence and inform women about their rights, including their right to adequate housing.

Women have reported the importance of the help and guidance they receive from advocates and support groups in their struggle to break the cycle of violence. That is why it is essential for States to support those local women's groups and organizations that work with women and help them to break free from domestic violence. States should also ensure that women victims of domestic violence and their advocates have access to information regarding the protections available to them under the law, including protections related to adequate, safe housing.

7.

Developing policies and programs which are sensitive to the needs of marginalized groups of women, such as women living in slums or women experiencing displacement, recognizing that women are not a homogeneous group.

It is important for States to take into account the specific obstacles to housing faced by especially marginalized groups of women, and to take positive steps aimed at addressing the needs of these different groups of women. Such steps should be informed by consultation with affected women and their advocates. Their perspectives are essential in the design, execution, implementation and evaluation of effective legislation, policies and programs to combat domestic violence.

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