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Cited by 24Gender Studies and Social IssuesChild Nutrition and Water AccessUrban and Rural Development Challenges

A qualitative study of access to sanitation amongst low-income working women in Bangalore, India.

Rajaraman, Divya, Travasso, Sandra M., Heymann, S. Jody·2013·Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
DOI 10.2166/washdev.2013.114
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Abstract

In India, access to sanitation amongst the urban poor remains low, and women are worse affected than men. Little is known about barriers to sanitation at the workplace, a location where working adults spend close to half of their waking hours. To explore access to sanitation facilities at the workplace amongst poor urban women, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 women working in low-income jobs in Bangalore. Access to sanitation varied by occupation group, with construction workers and domestic workers being the worst affected, and factory workers and street vendors better off. Consequences of inadequate access to sanitation included shame and fear related to urination and defecation in open areas, holding back the urge to urinate or defecate, walking significant distances during working hours to use a latrine, inability to maintain adequate menstrual hygiene at work, loss of pay as a result of missing work during menstruation and resentment towards employers who did not provide access to latrines. The findings reveal significant shortcomings in access to sanitation at the workplace for poor urban women. Extending legislation and improving the implementation of current regulation would improve access to sanitation at the workplace, as would increasing the coverage of public toilets.

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  • Time spent on sanitation has caused women to be late for work or suppress needs to avoid being late, work longer days if they needed to leave to use the toilet, fail to complete household chores, or be scolded or punished for taking too long.

    “Time spent on sanitation has caused women to be late for work or suppress needs to avoid being late, [168, 173] work longer days if they needed to leave to use the toilet, [250] fail to complete household chores, [226] or be scolded or punished for taking too long.[189]”

    From Water, sanitation, and women’s empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2022) · cites this paper as [250]

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Authors
Rajaraman, D., Travasso, S. M., & Heymann, S. J.
Affiliations
  • St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences (IN)
  • Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Corresponding author
Rajaraman, Divya
ORCID
Travasso, Sandra M.
Venue
Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
Publisher
IWA Publishing
Published
2013-05-06
Volume
3
Issue
3
Pages
432-440
ISSN
  • 2043-9083 (ISSN-L)
  • 2408-9362
DOI
10.2166/washdev.2013.114
OpenAlex
W1992912142
Cited by
24
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 1
FWCI
0.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development (publishedVersion)
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
workplace hygiene, sanitation access, low-income women, urban poverty, menstrual hygiene, construction workers, domestic workers, industrial workers, street vendors, public toilets, sanitation legislation

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