WUNRN
FINAL STUDY OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS
COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE
PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE
URBAN POOR: STRATEGIES & BEST PRACTICES
Direct Link to Full 22-Page Report:
Website of the UN Human Rights
Council Advisory Committee:
I. Introduction
1. Half of the current global population live in cities, and
l/3 of all urban
dwellers
are poor. The urban poor represent l/4 of the world's poor
population,
a number that is expected to rise dramatically with
continued urbanization, making poverty an increasingly urban
phenomenon......
IV. Situation of More Vulnerable
Groups
A. Women
and Girls
36. Women and girls face stark challenges, including
marginalization due to a gender gap in education, employment,
security,
health and political participation. Overall, school
enrollment rates in poor urban areas have actually decreased,
with unequal rates of educational attainment between girls and
boys. Social norms that disadvantage girls, such as
expectations regarding their domestic role in the home, early
marriage and limits on their independent movement, all act as
barriers
to their education, especially when household income
is limited.
38.
Women in poor urban communities are also more likely to be
exposed to gender-based violence. In some countries, poor
urban women are more likely to experience intimate-partner
violence than rural or higher-income urban women. This has
also been closely linked to a higher incidence of mental illness,
as
women who experience intimate -partner violence are
significantly
more likely to report thoughts of suicide. This is
consistent with some indicators that show a high prevalence of
poor mental health among poor urban women.
40. The effects of urban poverty on women are often compounded by
the
fact that, in many contexts, women already face social and
political marginalization. For instance, while insecurity of land
tenure
and inadequate shelter is a challenge for both men and
women
living in urban poverty, women are particularly
disadvantaged because they are often denied rights to property
owing
to cultural norms and discriminatory legal mechanisms.
