Wali, A., D. Alvira, P. S. Tallman, A. Ravikumar, and M. O. Macedo. 2017. A new approach to conservation: using community empowerment for sustainable well-being. Ecology and Society 22(4):6. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09598-220406

We reviewed the existing literature documenting the association between water insecurity and gender‐based violence to (1) describe the characteristics and contexts of available studies, and (2) identify and classify documented gender‐based violence across domains of water insecurity (access, affordability, adequacy, reliability, and safety). 18 peer‐reviewed articles mentioned associations between water insecurity and gender‐based violence. All studies were conducted in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia and were published in English. The most common manifestation of the relationship between water insecurity and gender‐based violence was an increased risk of sexual and physical violence for women who walked long distances to access water. This was followed by intimate partner violence sparked by the inability to meet domestic obligations due to household water inadequacy. Despite these trends, the domains of water insecurity, and the types of violence experienced by women, were often intertwined. We conclude that there is a dearth of information assessing gender‐based violence and water insecurity, especially in Latin America, North America, and Southeast Asia, and involving locally‐based scholars. We suggest that the spectrum of what is considered “violence” in relation to water insecurity be expanded and that scholars and practitioners adopt the term “gender‐based water violence” to describe water‐related stressors that are so extreme as to threaten human health and well‐being, particularly that of women and girls. Finally, we encourage the development of cross‐culturally validated measures of gender‐based violence, which can be deployed in conjunction with standardized measures of water insecurity, to evaluate interventions that target these linked threats to global health.This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Water, Health, and Sanitation Human Water > Rights to Water

Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a global pandemic and water insecurity is increasing in intensity and extent. This study explores the association between these two global health threats. Cross-sectional, quantitative data were collected via surveys (n = 365 adult women) to measure household water insecurity (HWI) and women's experiences of GBV in the last year. Qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews (n = 24 men and women), two focus group discussions (n = 25 men and women) and a multi-stakeholder meeting (n = 35 men and women) to explore experiences, attitudes and risk factors associated with HWI and GBV. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that women in water insecure households were more than twice as likely to report experiencing GBV in the last year (OR = 2.2, CI: 1.0-4.9, p = 0.051). Examining household water insecurity scores as a continuous variable revealed an increased odds of reporting GBV with each increase in the HWISE score (OR = 1.1, CI: 1.0; 1.1, p < 0.001). Qualitative data indicates that the intersection between HWI, a patriarchal social organization and a caste system produced water-related conflicts between intimate partners, between daughters-in-law and their in-laws, and between masters and enslaved women. These results are presented using an integrated theoretical framework - a Feminist Political Ecology of Health (FPEH) - to illustrate the many ways women encounter and experience multi-dimensional forms of violence across scales in connection to water insecurity. The combination of robust qualitative and quantitative data presented in this study suggests that HWI may be causally related to GBV in this context.