Water, sanitation and hygiene – A step to end gender-based discrimination

By Ommera Ahmed, Advocacy Coordinator & Savio Carvalho, Global Campaign Director | WaterAid

When you go to the toilet, or walk to buy a bottle of water, do you fear being physically or sexually attacked? Unfortunately, this is the shocking reality for many women and girls around the world for whom collecting water, or using the toilet, can be dangerous activities. These daily acts – which many of us take for granted – can put women, girls and boys at risk of harassment and assault.

To mark World Toilet Day in November, WaterAid launched its annual ‘The State of the World’s Toilets’ report. The report highlighted that 1 in 3 girls and women around the world do not have a decent toilet of their own. This statistic, 1 in 3, is the very same as the number of women and girls who experience physical, sexual or emotional abuse in their lifetimes. When women, girls and boys do not have access to a safe toilet, they may have to walk to remote locations, or use inadequate facilities after dark, which puts them at risk of harassment, sexual assault and even rape. From slums to villages, urban settings to refugee camps, this is a pervasive issue, magnifying the vulnerabilities of women and girls and proving yet again how insidious gender inequity really is. Other marginalised groups, such as transgender or disabled people, also experience harassment or assault when using toilets – their specific needs must also be taken into consideration.

An estimated 446 million women around the world have no choice but to defecate in the open

Given the taboos around defecation and menstruation, and the frequent lack of privacy, women and girls may delay drinking and eating in order to wait until nightfall to relieve themselves, to avoid putting themselves at risk. This can lead to infections and other health problems. Imagine weighing up the threat of violent attack at night and potential health risks, against the humiliation of urinating or defecating in the open during the day. This is an impossible choice that no one should be forced to make.

This is about gender inequality

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is not only a highly gendered issue but also an issue of human rights and dignity. We’re not only talking about health, physical and psychological risks, it’s also about why the burden of collecting water for the household falls disproportionately on women and girls, and why their needs aren’t recognised or respected. It is about women’s mobility, control of when and where they can relieve themselves and the blatant demeaning of their personhood. This extends to lack of justice: the shame and fear women and girls experience prevent them from reporting the crime, and in many cases a gender-discriminatory police force and legal system prevents perpetrators from being held to account. It is a vicious cycle—and a lack of toilets that are safe, private, and acceptable to women and girls is just one example of the danger presented by gender inequality.

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) governments have committed to ensure gender equality, along with safe water, sanitation and hygiene for everyone, everywhere by 2030. Both are interconnected – to end violence against women and girls we must ensure that they are not vulnerable when accessing safe water and sanitation. And, working with women and girls to ensure governments provide toilets and water points that enhance their sense of safety in public spaces, schools and homes can mitigate the risks of violence. These efforts must work from both ends to meet in a middle that enhances gender equality and female empowerment for all.

Progress on the WASH Goal – SDG 6 – will be reviewed at the UN’s High Level Political Forum in July 2018. This is an unprecedented opportunity to demand urgent action from governments. This in practice includes providing safe toilets and access to water.