Gender-based Violence

                                                                

Introduction:

Previously, I discussed how water collection steals the time of women and girls to participate in the labour market. This blog is a follow up on the previous blog post where I will discuss the dangers and issues surrounding water collection that women experience. There are 2 main gender-based violences and these are:

1. Experiencing sexual assault when fetching water and when using public spaces.

2. Experiencing domestic violence when returning home by male counterparts due to insufficient water and long periods away from the household.

The Risk of Sexual Assault:

On a daily basis, women risk their lives to collect water. Following the collection of water, women are forced to walk home with a forty pound Jerry Can (charity:water, 2022) whilst traversing dangerous terrains, which can result in attacks and sexual assault. This occurs primarily in the middle of the night or in the early morning, where some women reported that they sleep next to a water source at 3am (charity:water, 2022) so they can be first in line as queues for water can get very long. 

Women in Uganda have reported that they experience sexual violence when using toilets and when urinating; defecating in a public space due to a lack of clean, private and safe sanitation services. 33% of women reported that they felt unsafe when using unmaintained latrines and a further 6% said that they feel safer during daylight hours (Sommer et al, 2014). Women have to travel long distances to access WASH facilities (Global water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and therefore this highlights the issue of a lack of sanitation services and how this perpetuates the risk of sexual violence of vulnerable groups of people such as young girls and women. In addition to this, it was reported by a school in South Africa, based on the school population, that 80-100 girls (Sommer et al, 2014) would be menstruating on any school day which emphasises the needs for sanitation facilities. However, girls felt unsafe when using toilets due to the loitering of boys and gangs that would harass them. This form of violence results in psychological stress and anxiety and this is not something that women should experience as accessing sanitation is a basic human right. 

Domestic Abuse:

The inability to access safe, adequate and reliable water is encapsulated by the term water insecurity (Tallman et al, 2022). Water insecurity is a driving force, alongside a lack of WASH facilities, for women to travel long distances to access water from water points. However, due to the gendered division of labour, such as water collection, women often face verbal and physical abuse by their husbands. If women do not meet  water supply needs for the household, e.g., for cooking, cleaning and bathing, they are often verbally and physically abused by their husbands as it viewed that they are lacking in their duties as a wife. Cultural expectations (Sommer et al, 2014) create a gendered experience which women unfortunately have to suffer and this is exacerbated by water tensions within the household. Moreover, women have to spend long periods of time away from the household as water collection is a form of unpaid work that lasts long hours. However, this results in marital problems as they are suspected of infidelity which results in domestic abuse. 

I have explained some pressing dangers and issues surrounding water collection for women, where water collection is a gendered experience that catalyses gender-based violence.