Water and sanitation are not gender-neutral: human rights in rural Brazilian communities

Abstract

The Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (HRWS), adopted as UN Resolutions since 2010, contemplates key elements that seek to ensure equal and non-discriminatory access to water and sanitation, including the elimination of gender inequalities. Working in populations with socio-environmental vulnerabilities, this study aims to assess gender division of labor in households of two rural communities in the North and Northeast Brazilian macroregions and identify why greater impacts occur on the lives of women when compared to men, resulting in human rights concerns. A qualitative analysis was carried out through semi-structured interviews and direct observation. The study showed that in the two rural Brazilian communities there is a clear labor division for water and sanitation access from a gender perspective. Men undertake more specialized work, sometimes requiring greater physical effort. As for women, they are assigned functions related to the domestic environment, including activities concerning water and sanitation. When facilities are inadequate, there is a disproportionate impact on women's health and quality of life, showing that the non-compliance with the human rights to water and sanitation often results in more harmful consequences for them.

Water, Sanitation, and Women’s Empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis

“…(n = 38) Aguilar 2005; 49 Aihara 2016; 178 Andajani-Sutahjo 2015; 179 Arku 2010b; 180 Assaad 1994; 64 Baker 2017; 181 Bisung 2018; 182 Chew 2019; 183 Chipeta 2009; 72 Collins 2018; 184 (n = 34) Abu 2019; 62 Bisung 2016; 156 Boosey 2014; 197 Bora 2016; 198 Caruso 2017b; 170 Connolly 2013*; 199 Datta 2020; 200 Hall 2018; 201 Hirve 2015; 158 Jewitt 2014; 202 Joshi (n = 42) Abrahams 2006; 219 Alam 2017*; 220 Anyarayor 2019; 221 Bapat 2003; 154 Belur 2017*; 157 Bhatt 2019; 116 Camenga 2019; 222 Carolini 2012; 223 Caruso O'Reilly 2010; 48 Pardeshi 2009; 125 Rajaraman 2013; 236 Reddy 2019; 213 Rheinländer 2018*; 174 Routray 2015*; 168 Routray 2017a; 126 Sahoo 2015; 175 Schmitt 2017*; 214 Scorgie 2015*; 237 Senior 2014; 238 Shiras 2018; 161 Silva 2020; 215 Sommer 2015a; 239 Tegegne 2014*; 277 Thompson 2017; 217 Thuita 2017;…”

“…Women's and girls' choices about and control over their bodies have been constrained due to water and sanitation conditions. Specifically, women limited bathing, and washing hands, clothes, menstrual materials, and bathrooms; 62,72,84,86,109,130,151,183,184,186,188,215,218,267 restricted food and water to avoid defecation and urination; 121,154,160,165,170,178,198,210 suppressed defecation and urination urges; 2,48,167,170,174,176,177,200,203,215,221,222,224,227,233,234,236,256 delayed changing menstrual materials; 210,226,227,233,236 and took anti-diarrheal medicines 160 when lacking sufficient, safe or clean water and sanitation. Water improvements in E...…”

“…Multiple factors influence this ability, including conditions of water and sanitation facilities. Women and girls have described sanitation conditions as undesirable, dirty, disgusting, and nauseating 99,121,130,154,156,157,159,171,174,203,205,206,[208][209][210]212,213,215,[221][222][223]226,227,230,233,237 and lacking resources like disposal bins, soap, sufficient water, and buckets for washing or bathing, which are also needed during menstruation. 99,130,157,171,176,189,193,201,207,208,212,213,215,232,[238][239][240] Women used less preferred locations and sources for sanitation 116,156,159,…”

“…99,130,157,171,176,189,193,201,207,208,212,213,215,232,[238][239][240] Women used less preferred locations and sources for sanitation 116,156,159,183,205,211,215,221,226,234,241,242,256 and water due to cost, distance, or access limitations. 56,72,76,84,151,156,163,166,180,184,185,191,194,196,203,211,215,217…”

Access to Water and Sanitation Services in Brazilian Vulnerable Areas: The Role of Regulation and Recent Institutional Reform

“…The concentration of the population in large cities continues to grow with a higher concentration of families in peri-urban areas, especially in slums and other informal settlements, making the challenge of universalization harder. In rural and scattered areas, the problems, although different, are also great, especially in the northeast and northern regions of the country where there are larger dispersions and resources are scarcer [15]. Another challenge to universalization in Brazil is to meet the particular needs of special communities, such as indigenous and quilombo communities, among others [16].…”