Neighborhood Disorganization and Women’s Sanitation Utilization Practices in Mathare Valley, Kenya

Abstract

Approximately, 2.4 billion people, globally, lack access to safe toilets. The burden of this deficiency falls disproportionately on women living in informal settlements in developing countries. While there is a growing body of literature looking at the factors influencing women’s sanitation behavior, little is known about the role of the neighborhood environment. This study sought to explore this issue using data from a 2016 mixed-methods study focused on women in Mathare Valley informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Qualitative and quantitative data were used to analyze the role of neighborhood disorganization in the relationship between women’s sanitation-related stressors and their sanitation behaviors (utilization). Findings suggest that neighborhood disorganization is inextricably linked to women’s daily sanitation behaviors and the stressors that are associated with those behaviors. These results suggest that the health and safety of neighborhood environments may be critical factors in the future success of sanitation-related interventions and policies.

Environmental Correlates of Health-Related Quality of Life among Women Living in Informal Settlements in Kenya

“…Previous research in Mathare, carried out by the authors of this study, suggests that the majority of women living in these environments cannot, for a variety of reasons including lack of resources and/or time, fear of violence, health concerns, time of day, and building closures, access a toilet for all of their daily sanitation needs and, as a result, revert at least once in a 24 h period to using open defecation and/or plastic bags or buckets in their homes (which are then emptied into open drainages outside the home) to manage urination and/or defecation [18,33,34,35]. As more sanitation interventions are being introduced into settlements, women’s regular access to toilets is expanding.…”

Water, Sanitation, and Women’s Empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis

“…General Fears and Perceptions of Safety General safety concerns were widely noted, 86,105,109,125,129,133,157,163,168,172,174,177,187,188,209,[212][213][214][215]219,224,226,227,237,241,243 including feeling unsafe collecting water, 86,105,163 or using sanitation facilities at night, 154,157,176,215,[241][242][243] and when toilets lack doors, locks, lighting, or are far. 157,176,200,209,[225][226][227]238,241 Safety issues were described as particularly intense for adolescent girls, young women, and minorities. 2,121,…”

“…124 Physical Violence All research describing fear or experience of non-partner physical violence focused on sanitation, while all articles focusing on intimate partner physical violence and most focusing on interpersonal conflict focused on water. 47,48,62,72,75,87,96,97,109,121,129,130,157,[159][160][161]163,165,167,168,174,175,177,184,187,229,237,241,243,244,246,248,250,252,255 The majority of non-partner physical violence research focused on women's general fear of physical attack by men or boys, 48,72,109,121,129,157,[159][160][161]163,167,…”

“…Research from India, 167,254 Kenya, 255 and Nigeria 56 found women openly defecating were particularly vulnerable to non-partner sexual violence compared to those using latrines. Fear of sexual assault was reported to be greatest at night, 109,172,224,225,241 leading some women to use bags and buckets for sanitation needs. 161,241,256 In India, those in urban settings reported greater fear of sexual assault when accessing sanitation than those in rural settings.…”

“…Fear of sexual assault was reported to be greatest at night, 109,172,224,225,241 leading some women to use bags and buckets for sanitation needs. 161,241,256 In India, those in urban settings reported greater fear of sexual assault when accessing sanitation than those in rural settings. 167,175 Qualitative research described how men in India hid to watch for, attack, and molest women openly defecting alone, 160 and how a young woman in a Kenyan slum experienced an attempted rape when she walked ten minutes to the latrine.…”