The idea of a national voice addressing the issues of women and housing first arose when CERA-the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, an Ontario legal group whose mandate is to challenge systemic discrimination by using Human Rights, released the report Women and Housing in Canada: Barriers to Equality.

This report assesses federal government housing and income support policies and programs to determine to what extent they are assisting low-income women in meeting their housing needs. To our knowledge this is the first study of its kind in Canada .

Following recommendations made in the report, the Women`s Program at CERA, in conjunction with organization across Canada, established a National Working Group on Women and Housing in the course of 2003-2004, now the Women's Housing Equality Network.

To date, there have been insufficient analyses of the housing and homelessness crisis in Canada as a women`s issue. Housing debates on municipal, provincial and federal levels have not focused enough on women`s lived experiences and, as a result, laws, policies and programmes are being developed and implemented that do not consider and reflect women`s housing needs.

It is important to create a unique space where---without argument or debate---the focus of discussion and action is women`s housing needs. The Women`s Housing Equality Network is complementary to other national efforts on housing and homeless issues.

There is currently no national voice on women`s housing issues. CERA believes that a working group that focuses at least some of its activities at the national level is crucial in light of the important role and unique responsibilities of the federal government in the various policy areas that have a direct impact on women`s homelessness. A national entity has a greater chance of creating noise! This might help us in placing women`s housing issues on political, legal, and policy agendas. We can learn a lot from experiences in other provinces and territories. Solidarity and support from across the country can greatly assist in efforts to actualize women`s secure, safe, and adequate housing.

The following principles guide the work of WHEN

•  Women`s housing and homelessness issues must be adequately identified and addressed in laws, policies, programs, advocacy, and the media.

•  Those experiencing the most severe housing disadvantages tend to be low-income women or women with no income, particularly: Aboriginal women, immigrant women, visible minority and racialized women, older women, young women, single mothers, women in receipt of social assistance, women with disabilities, and women that are living or escaping violence; as those experiencing intersecting disadvantages .

•  The housing and homelessness crisis facing women in Canada is caused by a number of interrelated factors including: a shortage of affordable housing; women`s poverty; ineffective social support; social exclusion; lack of a safe environment; and systemic discrimination and inequality experienced by women and particular groups of women in all forms of housing and income support programs, employment and education.

• Housing is a human right.

• Women have the right to be free from all forms of discrimination with respect to housing.

• Women`s housing needs are often distinct from men`s and will only be addressed adequately if women`s lived experiences are understood and accounted for in the design and implementation of laws, policies, and programs.

• All levels of government have legal obligations to ensure women have an adequate and appropriate standard of living including adequate housing.