Every voice is needed at the table
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “An equal world is an enabled world.” To celebrate, Raheema has taken a quick look at the latest policy recommendations on improving access to sanitation for women and gender minorities.
Sanitation is not an equal experience
The lack of access to working sanitation is not an equal experience. Throw in the circumstances of emerging cities and it becomes even more complicated if you are not a cis man. Women and girls often tend to wait until dark to go toilet, but this leaves them vulnerable to potential sexual attacks. For people who menstruate, periods become more than inconvenient: they are a dreaded and extremely uncomfortable time of the month, causing the individual to miss school or work.
Thinking outside of the Binary
When we consider gender within sanitation, the language we use tends to bend towards an exclusive, binary approach. We need to look beyond just male and female. Access to sanitation for gender minorities is more than a hot topic debated in western society. Global access to sanitation for trans, intersex and gender minority communities is especially complex. For gender minority communities, not only do they also struggle with the lack of access to sanitation but there is the added complexity of having to choose between a designated ‘male’ or ‘female’ space. A lack of tolerance and understanding often leads to violence. Gender minorities face violence, harassment and ridicule when trying to access safe sanitation spaces.
The policy is clear: include everyone in the decision-making process.
Our friends at WSUP are doing some great work at promoting women across the sanitation sector. This includes ensuring that women are at the centre of the decision-making process in the creation of communal sanitation blocks. Their contribution is important because aspects such as location and proximity to home would be otherwise overlooked.
Water Aid have been at the forefront at developing policy recommendations for inclusive sanitation. The key message is that there should not be a one size fits all approach. The sector needs to appreciate the diversity of individuals’ varied experiences. For example, a gender-neutral toilet may work for some communities and could be harmful for others due to heightened visibility. The key is to allow trans people and other gender minority individuals to take lead on the design and implementation of improving access to sanitation.
The recurring theme? We need to include every voice in the decision-making process. This will enable us to tackle the global sanitation crisis head on and make sure that access to sanitation is an experience enjoyed by everyone.
This is a value that resonates with us at Gather. Two of our key values are collaboration and aiming to always do the right thing (even when it’s difficult!). We hope that our data led approach will help to enable communities and decision-maker to advocate for the sanitation needs in their cities.
