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Cited by 124Intimate Partner and Family ViolenceChild Nutrition and Water AccessGender, Security, and Conflict

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·2018·Violence Against Women
DOI 10.1177/1077801218754410
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Abstract

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.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/1077801218754410

Cites

7 of 7 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • In Uganda, outside of refugee contexts, water insecurity has been associated with increased risk of emotional distress, sexual violence, and missed educational opportunities.

    “In Uganda, outside of refugee contexts, water insecurity has been associated with increased risk of emotional distress (Mushavi et al. 2020), sexual violence (Pommells et al. 2018), and missed educational opportunities (Cooper-Vince et al. 2017).”

    From Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda (2022) · cites this paper as Pommells et al. 2018

  • Inadequate water provision and collection behaviors were reported to influence intimate partner violence, including violence from husbands for not providing water for bathing, not having water in the home, going to cleaner water sources considered too far, not preparing food on time, or attending water-focused community meetings.

    “Inadequate water provision and collection behaviors were reported to influence intimate partner violence [26,75,101,108,111,153,165,179,198,231,260,264,266].Women reported violence from husbands if they did not provide water for bathing needs (Kenya, [198] Ethiopia, [108] Vietnam, [111] Cameroon [231]), did not have water in the home (East Africa [179]), went to cleaner water sources considered”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [179]

  • Related to water, walking long distances and collecting from certain sources reportedly exposed women and girls to sexual violence, particularly as men studied women's patterns.

    “Related to water, walking long distances and collecting from certain sources reportedly exposed women and girls to sexual violence, [76,153,179,231,258,259] particularly as men studied women's patterns [179].”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [179]

  • Fears or experiences of harm from domestic and wild animals and insects were reported for both water collection and sanitation activities; women and girls reported fear and actual experiences of injury at and when accessing sanitation locations, regardless of sanitation type.

    “Fears or experiences of harm from domestic and wild animals and insects were reported for both water collection and sanitation activities [62, 135, 143, 170, 172-174, 177-179, 184, 187, 189-191, 198, 201, 214, 226, 229, 257, 258, 296].Women and girls reported fear and actual experiences of injury at and when accessing sanitation locations, regardless of sanitation type [135, 168, 172, 174, 184, 18”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [179]

  • Failure to provide sufficient water for the household has resulted in shame and violence.

    “Providing sufficient water for the household was described as important to being a good wife; failure to do so has resulted in shame and violence [153,179,273].”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [179]

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Authors
Pommells, M., Schuster-Wallace, C., Watt, S., & Mulawa, Z.
Affiliations
  • Aga Khan Foundation (CA)
  • McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
  • United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (CA)
  • Uganda Christian University (UG)
Corresponding author
Pommells, Morgan
ORCID
Venue
Violence Against Women
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2018-03-16
Volume
24
Issue
15
Pages
1851-1862
ISSN
  • 1077-8012 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-8448
DOI
10.1177/1077801218754410
OpenAlex
W2792621356
Cited by
124
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 7
FWCI
7.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Violence Against Women (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Security, and Conflict
Keywords
gender-based violence, violence against women and girls, water, sanitation and hygiene, WASH access, intimate partner violence, water access, lived experience, gender equity, healthcare workers
MeSH terms
Gender-Based Violence, Adult, Female, Humans, Hygiene, Kenya, Male, Rural Population, Rwanda, Sanitation, Tanzania, Uganda, Water Supply, Focus Groups, Vulnerable Populations

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