The global housing crisis affects women more severely, and they face numerous systemic barriers in accessing adequate housing, UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach said during a roundtable held within the framework of WUF13, APA reports.
She noted that currently 3 billion people worldwide live in inadequate housing conditions, more than 1 billion people reside in informal settlements, and 300 million people face homelessness.
According to the head of UN-Habitat, this crisis affects women disproportionately.
She stated that women face structural, legal, and cultural barriers, and that these problems have been extensively documented by UN-Habitat and partner organizations.
She said that one of the main obstacles to women’s access to adequate housing is discriminatory inheritance and family property laws. These laws often make women’s housing rights dependent on their relationship with men.
Rossbach added that women’s exclusion from land ownership and credit systems, as well as policies that appear formally gender-neutral but in practice leave women behind, further deepen existing inequalities.
The head of UN-Habitat stated that the lack of adequate housing increases women’s exposure to the risk of domestic violence: “When women have nowhere safe to go, they become more vulnerable to violence.”
She pointed out that 60% of femicides recorded worldwide in 2024 were committed by partners or family members.
According to Anacláudia Rossbach, this risk increases even further during crisis situations, and this was clearly observed during the pandemic period.
