Water, Human Rights, and Reproductive Justice: Implications for Women in Detroit and Monrovia

Abstract

Access to safe water and adequate living standards are recognized as basic health requisites and human rights worldwide. Nevertheless, socially marginalized women across the globe are currently facing threats to safe water access, which has dire implications for their health and that of their children. The City of Detroit, Michigan has recently shut off water services to over 50,000 residences, with low-income and racially marginalized women and their families disproportionately affected. The conditions for many Detroit residents are not unlike those in Monrovia, Liberia, where lack of access to safe water and substandard environments have contributed to the ongoing Ebola epidemic and subsequent maternal and infant mortality. Utilizing a comparative analytic approach rooted in postcolonial feminist theory and intersectionality, our commentary draws parallels between these two timely water, human rights, and reproductive justice crises in Detroit and Monrovia. We explore how public discourse and proposed solutions have failed to acknowledge the historical contexts and sociopolitical determinants of these crises, which have urgent and long-lasting implications for women’s reproductive health and social justice worldwide.

A conceptual framework for gender and climate mainstreaming to mitigate water inaccessibility in ruralsub‐SaharanAfrica

“…Sommer & Sahin, 2013;Torondel et al, 2018). Adverse mental health consequences of water insecurity more broadly have also been identified, backed by a growing body of evidence (Bisung & Elliott, 2015;Marcantonio, 2009;Mosley et al, 2015;Ngwenya & Kgathi, 2006;West et al, 2013;Wutich et al, 2020). For example, in Lesotho, water scarcity was associated with increased psycho-emotional stress, with poor access and water quality significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, and overall levels of distress (Workman & Ureksoy, 2017).…”

“…Lack of access to sufficient water and privacy has been demonstrated to result in social stigma and shame for women and girls, girls missing school to avoid physical and psychological discomfort associated with menstrual hygiene management, and increased susceptibility to urogenital infections (Duby et al, 2020; Morgan et al, 2017; Padmanabhanunni et al, 2018; M. Sommer & Sahin, 2013; Torondel et al, 2018). Adverse mental health consequences of water insecurity more broadly have also been identified, backed by a growing body of evidence (Bisung & Elliott, 2015; Marcantonio, 2009; Mosley et al, 2015; Ngwenya & Kgathi, 2006; West et al, 2013; Wutich et al, 2020). For example, in Lesotho, water scarcity was associated with increased psycho‐emotional stress, with poor access and water quality significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, and overall levels of distress (Workman & Ureksoy, 2017).…”