The Supreme Court of the UK confirmed that the legal definition of the word ‘violence’ expands beyond physical contact, to encompass emotional and psychological as well as financial abuse, for the purposes of being classified as homeless and receiving access to social housing.
The case was remitted to the London Borough of Hounslow to make a fresh decision in respect of Ms. Yemshaw in light of the expanded definition.
This decision has significant implications for the human right to adequate housing, particularly with regard to women’s access to housing. One commentator on the decision has written that the impact of the Supreme Court’s expanded definition of violence which includes emotional and psychological as well as financial abuse is that “anyone threatened with domestic violence, within the Supreme Court’s wider meaning, will not be expected to remain in local authority housing with their abuser. Although the judgement, given by Baroness Hale, did not mention human rights, it clearly impacts on article 8 rights to family life, and……, could greatly increase the number of people to which local authorities are obliged to provide housing.”
This case is particularly relevant given that homelessness and housing instability often accompany victims of intimate partner violence, who are predominantly women. ESCR-Net’s Women and ESCR (WESCR) Working Group has highlighted domestic violence, which impacts on women’s security of tenure, as an impediment to the full realization of women’s rights to land, housing and natural resources. This reaffirms the perspective of Miloon Kothari, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing who, based on regional consultations, has written that “[T]he widespread prevalence of gender-based violence is a central thread in the fabric of human rights violations faced by women, including in violations of the right to adequate housing and land.” Given the global scale of domestic violence and related housing instability, this case is of relevance across jurisdictions. In terms of linking domestic violence and women’s human right to adequate housing, the UN provides useful guidance towards holding States accountable and ensuring the rights and dignity of all women.
Special thanks to ESCR-Net member: Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.
Last updated on 9 July 2018.
Women’s Aid Federation of England