Women’s vulnerability to water and sanitation access: A case study of Carletonville informal settlements

Abstract

Water is necessary not only for drinking purposes, but also for growing food and preparation, care of livestock, personal hygiene, care of the sick, cleaning, washing and waste disposal. Because of the dependence on water resources, women have accumulated considerable knowledge regarding water resources, including location, quality and storage methods. However, efforts geared towards improving the accessibility of the world’s finite water resources and extending access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, often overlook the vulnerability of women as a result of exclusivity of those basic services. In many communities, availability of a safe and sufficient water supply and improved sanitation facilities has a disproportionate effect on the livelihoods of women. Women usually bear the responsibility for collecting water, which is often very time-consuming and burdensome, not only to them, but to their household as well. Without safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities at home and in the community, it is disproportionately harder for women to lead safe, productive, healthy lives. There is a huge gap between women’s livelihoods and water accessibility. Consequently, this study evaluates how water access and sanitation lead the women in the informal settlements into vulnerability in two informal settlements. Based on the results of the interviews from the participants and the review of literature, the study highlights that the women in these settings cannot function to their fullest ability due to inadequate water and basic sanitation. The women need adequate water for self-care and household care. The water they collect is not enough to even irrigate their small gardens for income generation. The problem is that the sanitation facilities such as the pit toilets, unventilated toilets and the bucket toilets are not safe and reliable, and so the woman have to resort to other methods of sanitation access like open defecation. Because of the fact that there are more women than men in both of the researched settlements respectively, the women are constantly vulnerable to physical sexual harm when they leave their iv homes for water collection. In summary, the exclusion of adequate water and sanitation in women put women in vulnerable positions. The implications of this study are that the domestic roles influenced this research to pin women as a point of focus in the informal settlements. However, the reality is that both men and women need the basic services, but because of the fact that gender perceptions are perpetuated by societal customs and traditions, women issues are then more urgent. The practical recommendations of this study are that the government should consider building permanent ventilated sanitation structures for each household in both of the researched settlements.