Sanitation in developing countries: a review through a gender lens

Abstract

Sanitation has evolved from a purely technical discipline to one that includes social, environmental, economic and, increasingly, gender considerations. However, blurry notions of gender are frequently offered in the sanitation literature. Although it has been recognized that gender-responsive sanitation does not mean ‘toilets for women’, substantial alternatives are rarely debated. We structure our review of sanitation in developing countries along three lines: we start by fine-tuning the concept of gender both from the academic and the practitioner's perspective, analyse relevant developments in gender-specific policies and programming, and finally review the most appropriate toilet room and menstrual hygiene technologies. We argue that strategies to make technologies gender-responsive need to be based upon a thorough analysis of the social arrangements of the intimate, and how these are negotiated and institutionalized in a specific context. A lack of robust gender-segregated data on sanitation policies and technologies, along with reductionist framings of gender are to blame for limited progress in verifying the need for, and impact of, gender-responsive sanitation. Technology and policy development and implementation would benefit from gender-considerate interpretations of shame, dignity, safety and status. Further progress could be achieved by improving the translation process between different academic framings of the sanitation crisis.

Sanitation-related psychosocial stress: A grounded theory study of women across the life-course in Odisha, India

“…Lastly, our results demonstrate the need to strengthen gendersensitive policies and work with women to address barriers to sanitation and reduce sanitation-related psychosocial stress. Though involving women in sanitation design has gained increasing popularity (Khosla et al, 2004;Mazurana et al, 2013;Ray, 2007;Tilley et al, 2013) women rarely exert control over where latrines are placed, their design, and the assurance of continued maintenance. To meet women's needs, it is also clear that a toilet is not enough.…”

“…Additionally, insufficient access to basic water and sanitation resources has been linked with psychosocial stress in other low-and middle-income countries, for example Ethiopia and Bolivia (Stevenson et al, 2012;Wutich and Ragsdale, 2008), as well as with increased risk and fear of violence in schools in South Africa (Abrahams et al, 2006), and risk of sexual violence in the slums of Delhi, India (Lennon, 2011) and Kampala, Uganda (Massey, 2011). An emerging trend toward genderresponsive sanitation approaches emphasizes the physical, social, and environmental needs of women (Tilley et al, 2013), increasing demand for gender disaggregated data (UN, 2008) and gendersensitive programming to improve equity and dignity (de Lange, 2013;Diczfalusy, 1997;Gender and Water Alliance & UNDP, 2006). Recognizing the intimate connection between the sanitation environment and the physical and mental wellbeing of women and girls underscores the need for a contextualized understanding of sanitation-related psychosocial stress in countries where adequate sanitation facilities are lacking.…”

Context matters: a multicountry analysis of individual‐ and neighbourhood‐level factors associated with women's sanitation use in sub‐Saharan Africa

“…plastic bags or bucket toilets) . Other research suggests that women's sanitation use may be affected by their fear of contracting infections from unclean sanitation facilities .…”

“…Women are disproportionately burdened by the persistent lack of access to safe sanitation [21][22][23][24][25][26]. Recent studies have suggested a number of factors that may be associated uniquely with women's sanitation use and, consequently, their health and well-being.…”

Improving on-plot sanitation management in low-income settlements of cities of developing countries: case study from Maputo, Mozambique

“…Some scholars (e.g. Tilley et al, 2013;Leach et al, 2010) have argued that traditionally, providing sanitation services has primarily been considered a technical problem that requires an engineering solution; hence engineers have been the main actors. This model has worked quite well in developed countries where national economies have financial and institutional capacities to construct, operate and maintain conventional sewerage and sewage disposal systems.…”