Making Sanitation and Hygiene Safer: Reducing Vulnerabilities to Violence

Abstract

A lack of access to a basic toilet in or near the home, inappropriate design or siting of facilities, or poor access to water supply can lead to women and children defecating in the open during the hours of darkness or having to walk long distances to collect water. Whilst these are not the root causes of violence, they can increase the users vulnerabilities to violence, including harassment and sexual violence. Being aware of such risks and making simple modifications to existing programme and organisational processes can help to ensure that the CLTS methodologies continue to contribute most effectively to the overall reduction in vulnerabilities to violence. This issue of Frontiers of CLTS investigates this further.