Gender Violence as a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Risk: Uncovering Violence Against Women and Girls as It Pertains to Poor WaSH Access.

Pommells, Morgan; Schuster-Wallace, Corinne; Watt, Susan; Mulawa, Zachariah

The purpose of this study was to better understand the gender violence risks that exist in communities where poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) access is a known problem. Focus groups and key informant interviews were used to capture the lived experiences of community and health care practitioners from Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. This article provides lived narratives of the various cultural and environmental conditions leading to assaults directly attributable to inadequate WaSH. The results shed light on the complex intersections between water access and violence and have significant implications for achieving gender equity and universal access to WaSH.

UGANDA; RISK of violence; VIOLENCE; COMMUNITY health workers; EXPERIENCE; DOMESTIC violence; FOCUS groups; GROUNDED theory; HYGIENE; INTERVIEWING; MEDICAL personnel; PREGNANT women; RESEARCH funding; SANITATION; SEX crimes; WATER; WOMEN'S health; GENDER; JUDGMENT sampling

Violence Against Women, 2018, Vol 24, Issue 15, p1851

1077-8012

Academic Journal

10.1177/1077801218754410