Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 29

Sanitation

Toilets and Gender-Based Violence
One in three women around the world are victims of
violence at least once in their lifetime.

girls, who loose privacy and face shame having to defecate
in public, or – after painfully holding their bladder and
bowels all day – risk attack by waiting until night falls.

The connections between toilets and violence against
women may not initially be obvious. But consider a
woman without access to a toilet in her home. When
travelling to and from public toilets, using the toilet,
or venturing from her home to defecate openly, she is
vulnerable to violence. This vulnerability is becoming
increasingly recognized and described.

Since 2000, the world has been working towards ending
open defecation by improving access to toilets through
the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
However, significant progress, particularly that of which is
equitable, is still needed.
As highlighted in most recent progress reports, numerous
inequalities in access to toilets exist. Urban areas gain,
and have significantly more access to services than
rural. Nine out of 10 people defecating openly live in
rural areas. Within urban and rural areas, the wealthy
have disproportionately greater access to toilets than
impoverished populations. Not stopping there, disparities
in access exist between religious, ethnic, and other
identifiable groups, with disenfranchised groups seeing less
access to services.
Where toilets do exist, additional inequalities present
in usability. Toilets generally remain inadequate for
populations with special needs, such as the disabled and
elderly, and women and girls requiring facilities to manage
menstrual hygiene. Without accessible toilets for these
populations, they remain excluded from opportunities to
attend school and gain employment.
In striving to achieve access to toilets under the
Millennium Development Goals, inequalities have become
apparent. A shift towards equitable approaches is vital to
achieving goals and protecting dignity.

Typical Chinese public
toilet, no privacy at all

Sou-fujimoto-public-toiletin-ichihara-designboom

Master-bathroom

Japanese Squat Toilet

Great Wall Life’s a Game

Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2014

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