Sanitation and gendered psychosocial stress in peri-urban Bangalore

ABSTRACT

Poor sanitation infrastructure can impact the physical and psychological well-being of marginalised communities. This article explores sanitation-related psychosocial stress among men and women in a peri-urban slum in Bangalore, India. It finds that women in Jayanagar slum, Karnataka, experienced psychosocial stress from open defecation due to the risk of sexual violence and socio-cultural norms. Their families also experienced stress as sexual assault on a woman can impact her family’s social standing in the community. Women use multiple coping strategies, even at the cost of their overall health and hygiene. For men, anxieties emerged from the risks to the women in their families.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender and diversity
• Governance and public policy
• Social sector – water and sanitation
• South Asia

Acknowledgments

This study was funded under a project grant by Arghyam, Bangalore. We are thankful to Bejoy Thomas, Veena Srinivasan, Priya Sangmeshwaram, Shikha Lakhanpal, and P. Srikant for their inputs. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2018 UNC Water and Health Conference, North Carolina, USA 29 October – 2 November, 2018 and we are grateful for the inputs from the participant. We also thank D S Kumar for carrying out additional interviews in the field. We are thankful to the reviewers for their inputs and all the participants of the study for their time. The usual disclaimers apply.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research is a part of a larger study on Groundwater and Sanitation nexus in peri-urban small towns of Bangalore funded by Arghyam, Bangalore.

Notes on contributors

Durba Biswas

Durba Biswas is a Fellow with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore, India. She is currently engaged in exploring the gendered aspects of water and sanitation in India. Her research interests are in understanding gendered negotiations around water at household, community and local government agency levels. She has worked with slum communities around Coimbatore and Bangalore in Southern India.

Shweta Joshi

Shweta Joshi is pursuing her Master’s degree in development studies from Azim Premji University in Bangalore, India. She has worked with multiple NGOs and universities in India on development programmes. Her research interests are in the areas of gender and sanitation in India and civil society engagement.