Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda
Refugee youth disproportionately experience sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and water insecurity, yet their SGBV experiences in the context of water insecurity are understudied. In this qualitative study, we conducted six focus groups (n = 48) and in-depth individual interviews (IDI) (n = 12...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IWA Publishing
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/12/12/883 |
| _version_ | 1797903485353590784 |
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| author | Carmen H. Logie Moses Okumu Madelaine Coelho Miranda G. Loutet Manjulaa Narasimhan Simon Odong Lukone Nelson Kisubi Daniel Kibuuka Musoke Peter Kyambadde Caetano Dorea Lina Taing |
| author_facet | Carmen H. Logie Moses Okumu Madelaine Coelho Miranda G. Loutet Manjulaa Narasimhan Simon Odong Lukone Nelson Kisubi Daniel Kibuuka Musoke Peter Kyambadde Caetano Dorea Lina Taing |
| author_sort | Carmen H. Logie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Refugee youth disproportionately experience sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and water insecurity, yet their SGBV experiences in the context of water insecurity are understudied. In this qualitative study, we conducted six focus groups (n = 48) and in-depth individual interviews (IDI) (n = 12) with refugee youth aged 16–24, and IDI with refugee elders (n = 8) in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement, Uganda. We applied thematic analysis informed by a social contextual framework and found that (1) SGBV is gendered, whereby adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) were targets for violence (symbolic context), and is intertwined with gender norms linked to AGYW's water collection roles (relational context); (2) water scarcity and off-site access to water infrastructure, combined with limited lighting, provide insecure environments that exacerbate AGYW's SGBV risks (material context); (3) participant generated solutions to water insecurity-related SGBV included engaging men and communities in dialogue and water collection (relational context), technology (e.g., solar lighting), improved security, and additional water points (material context). Findings signal the need to integrate water and sanitation hygiene development with SGBV prevention and sexual health (e.g., post-rape care) interventions. Refugee youth and communities should be meaningfully engaged in developing contextually relevant, gender transformative services to mitigate SGBV risks and advance health and rights.
HIGHLIGHTS
Water insecurity-related sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) research rarely includes refugees.;
Refugee adolescent girls and young women experience SGBV interwoven with their social roles as water collectors.;
WASH programs can focus on community mobilization and integration with SGBV prevention and care.; |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:33:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f0ac192aef464a648b9928221e4162d0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2043-9083 2408-9362 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:33:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-f0ac192aef464a648b9928221e4162d02023-02-18T09:47:36ZengIWA PublishingJournal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development2043-90832408-93622022-12-01121288389310.2166/washdev.2022.236236Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in UgandaCarmen H. Logie0Moses Okumu1Madelaine Coelho2Miranda G. Loutet3Manjulaa Narasimhan4Simon Odong Lukone5Nelson Kisubi6Daniel Kibuuka Musoke7Peter Kyambadde8Caetano Dorea9Lina Taing10 Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 1N8, Canada Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, includes the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction – HRP, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland Uganda Refugee and Disaster Management Council (URDMC), Yumbe, Uganda Uganda Refugee and Disaster Management Council (URDMC), Yumbe, Uganda International Research Consortium, Kampala, Uganda National STD/HIV/AIDS Control Program, Ugandan Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda Department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1, Canada Refugee youth disproportionately experience sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and water insecurity, yet their SGBV experiences in the context of water insecurity are understudied. In this qualitative study, we conducted six focus groups (n = 48) and in-depth individual interviews (IDI) (n = 12) with refugee youth aged 16–24, and IDI with refugee elders (n = 8) in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement, Uganda. We applied thematic analysis informed by a social contextual framework and found that (1) SGBV is gendered, whereby adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) were targets for violence (symbolic context), and is intertwined with gender norms linked to AGYW's water collection roles (relational context); (2) water scarcity and off-site access to water infrastructure, combined with limited lighting, provide insecure environments that exacerbate AGYW's SGBV risks (material context); (3) participant generated solutions to water insecurity-related SGBV included engaging men and communities in dialogue and water collection (relational context), technology (e.g., solar lighting), improved security, and additional water points (material context). Findings signal the need to integrate water and sanitation hygiene development with SGBV prevention and sexual health (e.g., post-rape care) interventions. Refugee youth and communities should be meaningfully engaged in developing contextually relevant, gender transformative services to mitigate SGBV risks and advance health and rights. HIGHLIGHTS Water insecurity-related sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) research rarely includes refugees.; Refugee adolescent girls and young women experience SGBV interwoven with their social roles as water collectors.; WASH programs can focus on community mobilization and integration with SGBV prevention and care.;http://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/12/12/883refugeesself-caresexual and gender-based violencewashwater insecurityyouth |
| spellingShingle | Carmen H. Logie Moses Okumu Madelaine Coelho Miranda G. Loutet Manjulaa Narasimhan Simon Odong Lukone Nelson Kisubi Daniel Kibuuka Musoke Peter Kyambadde Caetano Dorea Lina Taing Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development refugees self-care sexual and gender-based violence wash water insecurity youth |
| title | Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda |
| title_full | Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda |
| title_short | Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda |
| title_sort | water insecurity and sexual and gender based violence among refugee youth qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in uganda |
| topic | refugees self-care sexual and gender-based violence wash water insecurity youth |
| url | http://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/12/12/883 |
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