More News

[PUBLICATION] SERI launches new women's spaces publication offering a gendered analysis of informal settlements in South Africa (6 May 2025).

SERI ISWP Report cover 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.

[NEWSLETTER] SERI's latest newsletter is out (30 April 2025).

This is SERI’s first newsletter for 2025, covering highlights from October 2024 to February 2025. During this period SERI launched a new working paper on electrification in informal settlements entitled, 'Electrification in Informal Settlements: Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons'. This working paper examines the opportunities, challenges, and lessons of efforts to electrify informal settlements.

Key litigation highlights include SERI appearing as amicus curiae in the Tafelberg case before the Constitutional Court. The Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of millions of excluded Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant applicants, while the Constitutional Court upheld Bromwell Street residents’ right to emergency housing. SERI also continued its participation in the Khampepe Commission providing key evidence on the challenge of housing availability in the Johannesburg inner city.

SERI’s advocacy efforts included hosting a multi-stakeholder farm dweller indaba; hosting a moot court on eviction litigation with members of the Inner City Federation and Abahlali baseMjondolo; participation in PILG 2024; and hosting a dialogue on the Mahlangu v Minister of Labour judgment together with the Nelson Mandela Foundation. SERI also attended the World Urban Forum in Cairo and presented on food security at the 2024 International Social Justice Conference.

>> Access the full newsletter here.

[ADVOCACY] SERI participates in the Expert Symposium on Social Justice, Hunger and the Constitution (17 April 2025)

On 10 April 2025, SERI’s senior researcher, Dr Yvonne Erasmus, took part in an Expert Symposium on Social Justice, Hunger and the Constitution hosted by Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) at the Bertha Retreat in Pniel. This event built on an earlier gathering that took place on 5 September 2024 and aimed to bring together experts on food insecurity and hunger to examine the progress made towards alleviating hunger in South Africa, while also analysing the right to food by considering relevant constitutional frameworks, the international human rights framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the National Development Plan (NDP) from a social justice perspective.

The event was facilitated by the director of the CSJ, Professor Thuli Madonsela alongside Dr Marna Lourens, the manager of, and researcher at the CSJ. It brought together different stakeholders including academics, policymakers, government officials, Chapter 9 institutions, hunger alleviation organisations and corporate representatives. This year’s gathering focused on building upon the insights shared during the 2024 engagement, reflecting on the gaps identified in those discussions, highlighting significant policy developments, proposing actionable recommendations for advancing social justice and food security, and reviewing a draft policy brief to government to strengthen its relevance and uptake.

Yvonne spoke on a plenary panel entitled ‘Pragmatic challenges and barriers (the intersectional/interconnected drivers of food insecurity)’. She drew on SERI’s work on food insecurity, the right to food, the experiences of those affected, and the remedies they seek. She provided an update on this work since the last symposium and gave input from the perspective of civil society on the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan in response to a presentation on the plan by government.

[ADVOCACY] SERI attends the Twelfth Session of the World Urban Forum World Urban Forum in Cairo (14 January 2025).

From 4 to 8 November 2024, SERI attended the Twelfth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12) in Cairo, Egypt as part of the Women’s Spaces project and the Habitat International Coalition (HIC). The session was convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) under the theme “It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities”. The session focused on localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shedding light on the local initiatives required to curb the current global challenges affecting the daily life of people. Additional issues were discussed including unaffordable housing, rising living costs, climate change, the lack of basic services, and ongoing conflicts around the world. WUF12 provided an opportunity for SERI to engage with global housing justice movements, assess the evolving urban agenda, and strengthen partnerships.

Screenshot_2025-03-07_at_14.49.41.png

[ADVOCACY] SERI attends a two-week exchange in Canada as part of the Women’s Spaces Project (24 December 2024).

From the 1^st – 12^th of October, SERI participated in a knowledge sharing exchange facilitated by Rooftops Canada as a part of the Women’s Spaces Project.

The Women’s Spaces Project focuses on women’s access to and control over land and housing in sub-Saharan Africa. This exchange brought together experts from South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Uganda and Canada to engage critically on some of the deeper issues that impact equitable access to housing and land in these contexts.

The program of events included engagements with Cooperative Housing Federation of Toronto, the Windmill Line Housing Cooperative, the University of Toronto, the City of Toronto Housing Secretariat, The Center Town Citizens Ottawa Cooperation, the Federal Housing Advocate and Global Affairs Canada.