Claiming the right to housing for women and gender diverse people April 14, 2022 Kaitlin Schwan & Alex Nelson Kaitlin 1 Housing challenges faced by women & gender-diverse persons in Canada Intersectional housing experiences Claiming the right to housing  Gendered violations of the right to housing Spotlight on disability  Policy & practice solutions Q & A  Agenda Kaitlin 2 Housing challenges faced by women & gender-diverse persons in Canada Kaitlin 3 Core Housing Need Feminization of Poverty Shelters are Underfunded & Overwhelmed Toronto Women’s Shelters Occupancy Rates Oct. 31, 2019: 99% Occupancy Rate Jan. 24, 2019: 99% Occupancy Rate Jan. 21, 2013: 99% Occupancy Rate Domestic Violence Shelters – ‘Snapshot Day’ (April 18, 2018) Shelters are Underfunded & Overwhelmed Sexual Violence on the Streets Hidden Homelessness Public System Failures Multiple and compounding public system failures drive women and their children into housing instability and homelessness, contributing to intergenerational cycles of homelessness, housing instability, marginalization, and violence. “My son is under social services. His social worker is the same social worker I had as a kid.” Woman with lived experience of homelessness (Yukon Status of Women Council, 2007, p. 104)   Public System Failures The scale of gendered homelessness is larger than we think. Intersectional housing experiences Alex 14 Gendered intersectionality in housing Existing research indicates homelessness services are designed for “normative” service users Dire lack of gender-sensitive, accessible, culturally adequate services: Indigenous women are overrepresented in homelessness, are more likely to use shelters, and are more likely to experience hidden homelessness Deep physical inaccessibility: A DAWN Canada study reports that only 75% of homeless shelters have a wheelchair accessible entrance, 66% provide wheelchair accessible rooms and bathrooms, 17% provide sign language, and 5% offer braille reading materials (Alimi, Singh, & Brayton, 2018) 15 Colonization of Indigenous bodies, minds and lands has had the historic and contemporary effect of traumatizing generations of First Nations, Métis and Inuit by disrupting traditional and vital domestic and territorial systems of governance, and obliterating timeless institutions responsible for the socialization of Indigenous Peoples.” -Jesse Thistle, 2017 15 There is a lack of services and supports for gender non-conforming and 2SLGBTQ+ peoples within both VAW and homelessness services (Abramovich, 2017), with a national survey indicating that only 53% of VAW shelters provide supports for gender non-conforming peoples (Statistics Canada, 2019). Shelter culture is described as an “atmosphere of normalized oppression” (Abramovich, 2017) Tips for practicing inclusive care with gender diverse service users: Use gender inclusive language, and do not assume gender or pronouns Listen to the terms people use to describe themselves Do not assume gender or pronouns Offer your own name and pronouns when introducing yourself Practice using gender pronouns you are unfamiliar with Familiarize yourself with local resources that are 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive Support your colleagues to be accountable for gender-inclusive practices Gender diverse experiences 16 Claiming the right to housing 17 “The right to housing is not just a rallying cry. It, like human rights more generally, offers concrete standards that can be implemented and measured for progress.” – UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing 18 19 The 2019 National Housing Strategy Act “The right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right… essential to the inherent dignity and well-being of the person and to building sustainable and inclusive communities.” 19 The challenge in Canada is to change a housing system that gives rise to inequality and homelessness into one which ensure access to adequate housing for all Human rights claims identify systems, structures, and barriers that obstruct the realization of the right to housing and identify effective remedies Human rights like the right to housing are practical and build effective solutions—they help us map how to get to where we want to go Human rights—like the right to adequate housing—are transformational.  "Systemic violations have broad causes and effects, often arising from the ways in which society is organized politically, socially and economically. It is often difficult to identify individual perpetrators who bear individual responsibility for systemic violations. The State as a whole will be responsible.” - UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights 20 Evictions (especially those into homelessness), access to justice, inadequate rent protections, and evictions due to a 3rd party’s actions Inadequate housing for women and girls in Indigenous, northern, rural, and remote communities Ableism and inaccessible housing for women and gender diverse persons with disabilities Inadequate housing across the spectrum for women, girls, and gender-diverse persons; a lack of gender-specific social housing Financialization of housing Major rights-based gaps in Canada's 2017 National Housing Strategy (NHS), which holds all our housing policies and programs but actually "reduces targeted funding for households in core housing need” (disproportionaltey impacting women-led families) Systemic Issues 21 Gendered violations of the right to housing 23 Adequate Housing under International Human Rights Law 7 essential features of adequate housing: Legal security of tenure Availability of services and materials Affordability Habitability Accessibility Location Cultural adequacy What happens when women are turned away from emergency services? “Slept outside or slept with a man for a place” “Stayed awake all night, looking for a friend to take me in usually” “I slept outside, and when I did the police arrested me and stole all my personal belongings.” “begged a friend to let me stay with him in exchange I cleaned his apartment” “Stayed in abusive situation with my dog and my kid” 1. Gender-based funding Inequities in the homelessness sector 2. Federal investments in housing are not reaching women in deep poverty & core housing need Participants had an average of $596.66 left over after paying for their housing each month. Rental Construction Financing Initiative: Represents 40% of NHS funding + aims to produce 14,000 housing units over the life of the program Relaxed affordability criteria - 30% of the median total income for families in the area 80% of the rental units have no affordability requirements Only maintain the affordability of 20% of units for 10 years No targets re: women, girls, and gender diverse people 3. The definition of homelessness in policy does not reflect the unique ways that women & gender-diverse people experience homelessness. 27 4. Women & gender-diverse persons experience significant violations of their right to security of tenure. Spotlight on disability and human rights 79% of respondents identified living with disability, and on average reported 3 or more disabilities Formerly this number was thought to be around 45% Survey results change the frame through which homelessness should be understood: The most common reason cited for most recent experience of homelessness was the breakup of a romantic relationship 1/3 of respondents engaged in 3 or more subsistence strategies each month to stay housed Findings were deepened for people with disabilities WNHHN Survey Disability findings 29 Disability in Canada It is estimated that 22% of people in Canada live with disability In reality this number is likely much higher (ESDC) Compounded by gendered and racialized inequities in accessing “diagnoses” and navigating the system that renders disability “legible” in policies and programs Canadians with disabilities face some of the most dire social and economic circumstances Including facing double (or more) the rates of poverty and core housing need (affordability, adequacy, or quality) High rates of incarceration, homelessness, and institutionalization 30 2019_Federal_Election_Strategy.pdf (inclusioncanada.ca) December 3, 2020: Do Better Now Says the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD)! | Council of Canadians with Disabilities (ccdonline.ca) Making an accessible Canada for people with disabilities - Canada.ca 30 Disability homelessness is more likely to take place within a house People with at least 3 disabilities are 4x more likely to experience hidden homelessness (Statistics Canada 2016) In Toronto, 90% of threats of illegal act eviction due to a third party’s actions are delivered to women (Smith 2017, pg 556) Higher likelihood of eviction into homelessness, lack of enforcement in delivery of corresponding supports “The odds of being evicted were more than three times greater if participants had a mental health disability or reported a substance use problem” (WNHHN 2021) These circumstances represent a systemic violation of the right to housing Inadequate Housing and the Spectrum of Homelessness https://harvardcrcl.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/07/Smith.pdf Hidden homelessness in Canada (statcan.gc.ca) EN-Pan-Canadian-Womens-Housing-Homelessness-Survey-FINAL-28-Sept-2021.pdf (womenshomelessness.ca) 31 Nothing About Us Without Us: Lived Experience Advocacy Nothing About us without us (James Charlton, 1998) Shift to Nothing Without Us Overlap between disability advocacy and homelessness self advocacy Part of enabling rights-based participation under the National Housing Strategy Act (2019) Expanding pathways to meaningful engagement for rights-claimants Nothing Without Us CLELN: CLELN - Home Nothing about us without us: LEAC-7principles-final.pdf (homelesshub.ca) 33 Disability poverty is gendered, and leads to disproportionate homelessness for women, girls, and gender diverse peoples with disabilities This homelessness is invisibilized Rights-based governance identifies and prioritizes those in the most extreme or vulnerable circumstances Access to justice starts with engaging people from those communities Particularly with lived experience of homelessness and disability NHS capital initiatives are not alleviating core housing need, which directly impacts people with disabilities Data gaps exacerbate these issues It’s about dignity…I don’t think my government looks at me as a human being. I think they look at me as a problem. As something to be fixed. And that’s not the case… I just want my humanity please. And I want a home. -Victoria Levack, Rights Claimant In Summary 34 Solutions in policy and practice Where do we go from here? Re-prioritize investments towards those most in need, ensuring gender-based equity in funding. Heavily invest in deeply affordable housing that genuinely meets the needs of diverse women, girls, and gender-diverse people. Programs and policies that increase home ownership and primary lease holding among low-income and marginalized women and gender-diverse people. Expand eviction prevention programs. Raise social assistance, disability benefits, and minimum wage to livable rates, ensuring equitable access to social benefits for diverse women and gender diverse people. How could we improve housing outcomes for women & gender-diverse persons in Canada? Understand what the right to housing is and how it applies in your work Educate the communities you work with on the right to housing & mechanisms for holding the Canadian government accountable to their human rights obligations Build capacity in your organization / amongst your colleagues or peers to embed right to housing principles into organizational culture, decision-making, and allocations of funding Challenge violations of the right to housing within your organization, municipality, or community Support communities experiencing human rights violations in claiming their right to housing How can social workers leverage the new right to housing legislation to advance equity & justice? 38 Questions to ask yourself about your social work practice How would understanding the people you serve as “rights holders” transform your practice? Does your organization understand itself as being engaged in human rights work? Are there violations of the right to housing for women and gender diverse people occurring in your context? Are persons receiving services/ supports able to say ‘no’ without negative consequences for their housing stability or access to services (directly or indirectly)? Are these services safe and affirming for women? For gender diverse people? Is adequate time taken for relationship and team-building? Is this work valued? What power do community members’ opinions or voices have in organizational decision-making? Policy decision-making? Are you listening to diverse voices? What policies & practices at mezzo and macro levels making contributing to human rights violations at the micro level in your context? What are the levers for change? Are you and your organization using a GBA+ lens? How can you best support the communities you serve to claim their right to housing? 38 Questions & Discussion The right to housing and what it can look like in Canada and in your work Thank you! LEARN MORE AT: HOUSINGRIGHTS.CA WOMENSHOMELESSNESS.CA