WOMEN AND SECURE PROPERTY RIGHTS: A PRIMER ON EFFECTIVE REFORM

IMPROVING WOMEN’S ACCESS TO LAND AND PROPERTY

• Around the world, women lack secure property rights – formal or informal

• The lack of property rights has severe, negative consequences for their health and wellbeing

• Secure, legal access to property leads to economic, social, and political empowerment

• Laws and policies alone are not enough

FORMAL LEGAL AND POLICY REFORM• In many countries, a primary impediment to

property rights is the law itself, where laws do not recognize rights of women or treat their rights as secondary to the rights of men

• Legal reform can: •Make rights formal where they have always been informal, providing a foundation for change• Serve as an impetus for social change at the community level

• While important, legal change is not sufficient on its own

EDUCATION AND AWARENESS OF RIGHTS• Education and awareness of rights and

how to access those rights is key

• Lack of awareness is often single biggest obstacle to implementation of new laws•Women don’t know their rights and/or• Feel cultural or social pressure not to assert them

• Education efforts must include everyone in the community, not just women

IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT

• Even the best legal or policy reform won’t be effective if not enforced

• Legal reforms work best when accompanied by aggressive and comprehensive strategies to implement and enforce the changes

ACCESS TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM

• Even if women understand their rights and the government is willing to enforce the law, women still have to access the legal system and navigate the legal process

• Numerous barriers include finding basic legal assistance or representation and the high cost of hiring lawyer, and the actual and opportunity costs of traveling to a lawyer’s office or judicial body

• Paralegal programs, community trained volunteers, and legal aid clinics can all be helpful in giving women access to the legal system

HOLISTIC APPROACH

• Holistic approach to legal reform includes education and awareness, implementation and enforcement, and access to the legal system

• Holistic approach to improving property rights means acknowledging the deep linkages to many other issues impacting women