Gender identities, water insecurity, and risk: Re‐theorizing the connections for a gender‐inclusive toolkit for water insecurity research

Abstract

Informed by decades of literature, water interventions increasingly deploy “gender‐sensitive” or even “gender transformative” approaches that seek to redress the disproportionate harms women face from water insecurity. These efforts recognize the role of gendered social norms and unequal power relations but often focus narrowly on the differences and dynamics between cisgender (cis) men and women. This approach renders less visible the ways that living with water insecurity can differentially affect all individuals through the dynamics of gender, sexuality, and linked intersecting identities. Here, we first share a conceptual toolkit that explains gender as fluid, negotiated, and diverse beyond the cis‐binary. Using this as a starting point, we then review what is known and can be theorized from current literature, identifying limited observations from water‐insecure communities to identify examples of contexts where gendered mechanisms (such as social norms) differentiate experiences of water insecurity, such as elevating risks of social stigma, physical harm, or psychological distress. We then apply this approach to consider expanded ways to include transgender, non‐binary, and gender and sexual diversity to deepen, nuance and expand key thematics and approaches for water insecurity research. Reconceptualizing gender in these ways widens theoretical possibilities, changes how we collect data, and imagines new possibilities for effective and just water interventions.This article is categorized under: Human Water > Value of Water Engineering Water > Water, Health, and Sanitation Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented Human Water > Methods

Men's household water fetching in India: Gender inequity is associated with greater responsibility and related risks

“…If men's water fetching then is neutral or even solidifiesrather than threatens-masculinity and social position inside and outside the home, we could anticipate that the effects of water fetching on psychological wellbeing (depression, anxiety) or other stress outcomes (blood pressure) may not be as consistent or pronounced as that observed for women. It may even be absent, as suggested previously in a comparative analysis of blood pressure by gender in water insecure households in Nepal (Brewis et al, 2019). In considering future research directions, this proposition deserves direct testing.…”

“…It will take a great deal more research to unravel how it manifests and how it is changing in specific communities and countries, particularly in light of the different pacing and advances around gender equity globally. Crucially, in light of this, the role of gender/sex (van Anders, 2015)-and particularly masculine gender norms among cisgender men, transgender men, and gender diverse people (Brewis et al, 2023)-in shaping gendered patterns around the world requires a great deal of further research. We believe this article crucially contributes a framework for investigating basic propositions around gender equity and household divisions of labor in ways that can give shape to future research.…”

“…A general, widely supported proposition is that risk patterning is embedded in socially-maintained gendered power differentials that provide the frame for women's work as water carriers and are-on balance-configured for the benefit of men (e.g., Sultana, 2021). Known harms associated with water fetching that are observed as highly gendered include differential risk of skeletal trauma (Geere et al, 2018), physical and emotional mistreatment (Tallman et al, 2022), depression/anxiety (Wutich et al, 2020), and physiological stress such as heightened blood pressure (Brewis et al, 2019).…”

“…For example, a recent summary of peer reviewed literature concluded that gender-based verbal harassment and physical-including sexual-violence against women, and girls, was related to having to travel to access water (Tallman et al, 2022), with perpetrators typically being boys or men (e.g., Asaba et al, 2013). Similarly, studies of the connections between water insecurity and common mental health risks or other stress markers show women are those most frequently and severely affected (Bisung & Elliott, 2017;Brewis et al, 2019;Brewis et al, 2020;Wutich, 2020). For example, in rural Cameroon, Nounkeu and Dharod (2022) describe how women are responsible for ensuring there is adequate household water, with men only peripherally involved.…”

Associations between water insecurity and mental health outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer persons in Bangkok, Thailand and Mumbai, India: Cross-sectional survey findings

“…Third, the findings suggest differences in experiences within and between LGBTQ communities, whereby water insecurity most affected transgender persons in Mumbai compared to cisgender counterparts, those with lower education in Bangkok and COVID-19 job loss in Mumbai, and participants in India versus Thailand. This reflects the need articulated by Brewis et al (2023) and Caruso et al (2022) for an intersectional analysis on water-related insecurity that accounts for sexual and gender diversity as well as other socioeconomic and contextual factors.…”