On Tuesday, 6 May 2025, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa launched a report entitled 'A Gendered Analysis of Informal Settlements in South Africa'. This report explores land and housing through a women's equality lens by focusing on women's equal access to, use of, and control over land and housing in an informal settlement context.
The report accepts, as a point of departure, that inequalities in informal settlements are systemic in nature and that systemic inequalities are a form of structural violence, particularly infrastructural and environmental violence, and that experiences of systemic inequality are gendered. The report explores how these forms of violence intersect with gender inequality, creating barriers to women’s access to basic services, livelihoods, participation, and tenure security. The report seeks to provide an evidence base for policy advocacy by proposing policy interventions that promote gender equality in informal settlements and ensure women’s rights to land and housing are recognised, protected, and enhanced.
The report is accompanied by four fact sheets that distill the contents of this research report:
- Fact Sheet 1 - Bringing a gendered lens to informal settlements;
- Fact Sheet 2 - Highlighting the gaps in legislation and policy;
- Fact Sheet 3 - Key findings: Women's experiences in informal settlements;
- Fact Sheet 4 - Recommendations: Proposed pathways for gender-responsive development.
This report forms part of a series that includes analyses of the ‘family home’ (Report 1), the formal property system, and rental tenure. Together, these reports aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of women’s rights to land and housing in law and practice across various contexts.
The informal settlement report forms part of the Women’s Spaces project and is made possible by Global Affairs Canada.
>> Access the full publication here.