ONE UN - Beyond shelter adequate, safe, resilient…

Housing is not gender neutral. Women face many challenges related to housing. A lack of affordable housing within and across countries, unemployment, intimate partner violence and different forms of sexual violence contribute to homelessness, and a lack of tenure security for women and girls. For women victims/survivors of violence, the need for safe and affordable housing options is often one of their greatest concerns. This side event will explore housing in different contexts (social housing, informal settlement, displacement, and in high crime areas) as it relates to women's safety and with links to women's social and economic opportunities and challenges. Women's housing needs must be considered in a context broader than shelter itself to respond to the plurality of their daily needs, including access to transport options, economic opportunities, and safe public spaces. The session will bring together invited speakers from different sectors and regions to explore women's housing needs in different contexts. It will also highlight promising practices to address them, as well as lessons learned to inform policy recommendations. Some of the questions for discussion include: How can housing initiatives (including through public private collaborations) better respond to women's safety concerns? What is the impact of the lack of safe and affordable housing for women? What does a gender responsive approach to housing policy look like? How can housing solutions support progress towards gender equality and women's empowerment more broadly?

Facilitator:

Kathryn Travers

Partners:

• UN WOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (United States of America)
• UN Habitat (Kenya)

Panelists:

• Ms. Kaori Ishikawa, Country Representative in Georgia and Liaison for the South Caucasus, UN Women (Georgia)
• Mr. Zakaria Oulad, Municipal Councillor, City of Agadir (Morocco)
• Ms. Ann Wanjiru, Coordinator, Mathare Legal Aid and Human Rights Advocacy MLAHRA (Kenya)
• Ms. Maria Munir Yusuf, Founder and Executive Director, Association for Women's Sanctuary and Development AWSAD (Ethiopia)
• Ms. Rigel Oliveri, Professor, Law University of Missouri (United States of America)