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Cited by 76Gender Studies and Social IssuesChild Nutrition and Water AccessUrban and Rural Development Challenges

Gender variations in access, choice to use and cleaning of shared latrines; experiences from Kampala Slums, Uganda.

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Kwiringira, Japheth, Atekyereza, Peter, Niwagaba, Charles, Günther, Isabel·2014·BMC Public Health
DOI 10.1186/1471-2458-14-1180PMC PMC4247598
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sanitation is one of the most intimate issues that affect women, especially in slums of developing countries. There are few studies that have paid attention to the gender variations in access, choice to use and cleaning of shared latrines in slums. METHODS: This paper draws on qualitative data from a cross sectional study conducted between 2012 and 2013 in six slums of Kampala City, Uganda. The study involved both women and men. Data were collected from 12 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 15 Key informant interviews; community transects and photographs of shared latrines. RESULTS: Location of a shared latrine facility, distance, filthy, narrow and irregular paths; the time when a facility is visited (day or night), privacy and steep inclines were gender 'filters' to accessing shared latrines. A full latrine pit was more likely to inhibit access to and choice of a facility for women than men. Results indicate that the available coping mechanisms turned out to be gendered, with fewer options available for women than men. On the whole, women sought for privacy, easy reach, self-respect and esteem, cleanliness and privacy than men. While men like women also wanted clean facilities for use; they (men) were not keen on cleaning these facilities. The cleaning of shared latrines was seen by both women and men as a role for women. CONCLUSION: The presence of sanitation facilities as the first step in the access, choice, use, and cleaning by both women and men has distinct motivations and limitations along gender lines. The study confirms that the use and cleaning of latrines is regulated by gender in daily living. Using a latrine for women was much more than relieving oneself: it involved security, intimacy and health concerns.

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  • General safety concerns were widely noted, including feeling unsafe collecting water or using sanitation facilities at night, and when toilets lack doors, locks, lighting, or are far; safety issues were particularly intense for adolescent girls, young women, and minorities.

    “General safety concerns were widely noted, [100, 119, 123, 139, 143, 147, 171, 177, 182, 186, 188, 191, 201, 202, 223, 226-229, 233, 238, 240, 241, 251, 255, 257] including feeling unsafe collecting water, [100, 119, 177] or using sanitation facilities at night, [168, 171, 190, 229, 255-257] and when toilets lack doors, locks, lighting, or are far [171, 190, 214, 223, 239-241, 252, 255].Safety”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [186]

  • Fear of sexual assault was reported to be greatest at night, leading some women to use bags and buckets for sanitation needs; in India, urban settings reported greater fear than rural settings.

    “Fear of sexual assault was reported to be greatest at night, [123, 186, 238, 239, 255] leading some women to use bags and buckets for sanitation needs [175, 255, 270].In India, those in urban settings reported greater fear of sexual assault when accessing sanitation than those in rural settings [181,189].”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [186]

  • Women in Nairobi, Kenya who rely on bags, buckets, or open defecation had lower odds of experiencing privacy; household or shared toilets do not always prevent women from being seen or heard while defecating.

    “Women in Nairobi, Kenya who rely on bags, buckets, or open defecation had lower odds of experiencing privacy [256].Household or shared toilets do not always prevent women from being seen or heard while defecating [123, 184, 186].”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [186]

  • Limited income and asset access and control, including over land, constrained women's access to sanitation and limited independent decision-making about latrine construction; women reported using public pay-per-use toilets and incurring higher costs than men due to more frequent need.

    “Similarly, limited income and asset access and control, including over land, constrained women's access to sanitation [119, 124, 125, 135, 147, 168, 171, 174, 186, 187, 191, 217, 239, 240, 270] and limited independent decision-making about latrine construction [119, 124, 135].Women reported using public pay-per-use toilets [168, 171, 174, 227, 239, 270] and incurring higher costs than men due to”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [186]

  • Limited household income has forced women to prioritize needs like food over sanitation; women in Kenya and India adapted by using preferred pay-per-use locations less often or strategically, like for defecation only.

    “Limited household income has forced women to prioritize needs like food over sanitation, whether investing in or paying to use toilets [135,147,186].Women in Kenya [240, 270] and India [187] adapted by using preferred pay-per-use locations less often or strategically, like for defecation only [187,240,270].”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [186]

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [1]WaterAID Uganda Mainstreaming gender in sanitation and hygiene in Uganda Proceedings of the Sanitation and Hygiene Conference held in South Africa 2002 South Africa UWASNET and WATERAID Uganda 1 19
  2. The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/14/1180/prepub

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Authors
Kwiringira, J., Atekyereza, P., Niwagaba, C., & Günther, I.
Affiliations
  • Makerere University (UG)
  • ETH Zurich (CH)
Corresponding author
Kwiringira, Japheth
ORCID
Venue
BMC Public Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2014-11-19
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
1180-1180
ISSN
1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1471-2458-14-1180
PMC
PMC4247598
OpenAlex
W1984813596
Cited by
76
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5
FWCI
11.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Branco Weiss Fellowship – Society in Science
  • College of Humanities and Social Sciences, United Arab Emirates University
  • Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Studies and Social Issues
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
  • Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban and Rural Development Challenges
Keywords
gender differences, sanitation, slum sanitation, latrine access, latrine use, privacy, coping strategies, gender division of labor
MeSH terms
Adult, Choice Behavior, City Planning, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Gender Identity, Humans, Male, Poverty Areas, Social Control, Informal, Toilet Facilities, Uganda, Focus Groups

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