Building toilets is only part of the solution to sexual violence

The brutal killing of two teenage girls in India two weeks ago highlighted the links between sanitation and security. The lack of access to basic sanitation facilities at home can make women and girls vulnerable to sexual violence. However, Hannah Wright and Sunil Suri argue that building toilets should only be one part of the response to this tragedy. Addressing underlying factors such as discriminatory gender attitudes and the lack of equitable access to security and justice is also critical – otherwise incidents like this are likely to occur again as recent events have demonstrated.

Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament last week, India’s President vowed that the new BJP-led government would take a “zero tolerance” approach towards violence against women, a point that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed in his own maiden speech to parliament yesterday. Renewed attention on violence against women and girls in India was given impetus by recent events in the Indian village of Katra, in Uttar Pradesh, where two teenage girls were gang raped and hanged after leaving their house to go to the toilet.

The Indian government this week responded to the outcry prompted by these killings by promising that by 2022 every family in India will have access to basic sanitation in their own homes. The policy echoed that in Uttar Pradesh where local government officials had already pledged to build toilets. Building toilets in response makes sense: by removing a prime opportunity for women and girls to be attacked, it significantly reduces their vulnerability to sexual violence. Moreover, as one commentary has noted, it is clear that this is not “just an Indian problem”, but a common global challenge.

However, efforts to prevent violence against women and girls must not focus only on reducing specific types of vulnerability, whether by building toilets, installing street lighting or creating women-only carriages on public transport. While putting measures in place to provide practical protection for women and girls is important, such responses risk merely displacing the problem rather than solving it. We also need to address the reasons why some men choose to commit these acts.

The evidence tells us that deeply engrained gender inequality is a root cause of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls. Studies have found that discriminatory attitudes towards women are among the factors most strongly associated with sexual violence in a wide range of contexts. A UN study of men in South Asia who had committed acts of sexual violence found that the most common reason they cited was the belief that they had a right to access women’s bodies for sex, regardless of whether consent was given. A holistic approach to preventing sexual violence is required that transforms these harmful attitudes, whilst also empowering women economically and politically.

Looking more closely at the murders in Katra and how events have unfolded since, it is clear that the lack of sanitation is only one part of the story. From the very beginning, both inequality and police failings have played a central role. First, the police were accused of not responding to the victims’ families’ pleas to search for the girls, with the father of one of the girls saying “when I told them [the police] what my caste was, they started abusing me”. Indeed, one senior police officer has publicly stated “had the cops responded immediately…the girls could have been recovered safe and sound”. More recently, it has been reported that the victims’ families have sought an arms license after facing threats from other villagers, many of whom are higher up in the caste hierarchy. Local political leaders, aside from making ill-judged remarks, have offered compensation for the victims’ families, which initially was rejected by the father of one of the victims who said “We want justice, not compensation”.

There are many factors behind the brutal rape and killing of two teenage girls in Katra. Caste and gender inequalities, low confidence in the security and justice services and lack of capacity and professionalism in these sectors, as well as poverty, lack of access to sanitation, education, and employment are all part of the picture.

While the emphasis on improving sanitation is to be welcomed, we must be wary of framing such cases in a simplistic way that lends itself to partial responses. What is needed is a more holistic response that also addresses the roots of the problem: crucially including the discriminatory attitudes that make such offences more likely and the lack of equitable access to security and justice.

Hannah Wright is Gender, peace and security adviser, Sunil Suri is project officer, Post-2015 and Rising Powers.

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“What is needed is a more holistic response that also addresses the roots of the problem: crucially including the discriminatory attitudes that make such offences more likely and the lack of equitable access to security and justice. ”

Hannah Wright