Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Nov - Dec Vol. 9 No.6 | Page 30
Sanitation
Women experiencing regular discrimination from men,
express fear of assault or rape when having to leave the
house to use the toilet. Reports of attacks or harassment
near or in toilet facilities, as well as near or in areas
where women defecate openly, are not uncommon. The
consequences of such violence against women are both
physical and psychological for the victim, and extend to
families and communities that persist to live with gender
based inequalities and lost economical potential of victims.
You might remember the two young girls from Uttar
Pradesh India raped and murdered this year while looking
for a toilet. While it is important to recognize that lack
of access to toilets was not the cause of this violence, not
having a safe place to go to the toilet facilitated the violent
act.
It is our duty to protect vulnerable women from
experiences of gender-based violence. Universal access to
safe toilets has a clear role to play in defending women’s
Can Toilets Reduce Violence Against Women?
Toilets can play a role in protecting women. The most
obvious way is through access.
With access to a toilet, women no longer have to defecate
in the open where they feel ashamed, and vulnerable to
predators when having to expose themselves publicly. In
addition to access, there are numerous considerations for
Director of (toilet)
Operations
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Introducing the Harley
Davidson Toilet Seat
Ginga train japanese style toilet
Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • November - December 2014
limiting the risk of violence associated with toilets.
For exampl