Raquel Ludermir’s current PhD research explores the relationships between housing tenure security and domestic violence against women in urban, low income settlements in Brazil. Through a qualitative study, based mainly on primary data, the aim of the research is to contribute to the debate on housing tenure security from a gender and intrahousehold perspective, and to the debate on domestic violence against women from a tenure security perspective. Ultimately, the aim is to shed light on how these processes contribute to broader gender and housing inequalities in an urban, low-income context in the Global South.

Raquel holds an undergraduate degree in Architecture and Urban Planning, and a Master’s in Urban Development from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. Her previous research topics include the right to the city, strategic city planning, public private partnerships, as well as land regularization, land conflicts and forced evictions.

Alongside her research, Raquel has also worked for nearly 10 years as an independent consultant for international and local NGOs. She worked mainly on advocacy and knowledge management initiatives, focusing on project design, evaluation and documentation. She has worked on projects supported and commissioned by UN-Habitat, DFID, the British Council, Open Society Foundations, Habitat for Humanity International and the Brazilian Federal Land Administration. She has been invited to several UN experts group meetings and events and contributed to a number of documents looking at best practices around the world.