Description
The world is focused on the Sustainable Development Goals – 17 goals, 169 targets, developed to ensure that the distribution of resources for life around the world happens equitably such that, by 2030, there is health and life for all (www.sustainabledevelopment.un.org). In this context. a large proportion of the world’s population remains without equitable access to safe water and adequate sanitation, resulting in over 10% of the world’s burden of illness. Furthermore, this distribution is inequitably skewed, with the primary burden falling to those in low and middle income countries (LMICs), primarily in sub Saharan Africa (SSA). We know too that the greatest burdens related to water and sanitation fall on women and girls – time fetching water, lost time from school due to water-related shortages/activities as well as menstruation, the burden of taking care of sick children and family members when safe water and adequate sanitation are not available, the list goes on. Where there is a major gap in both knowledge and policy, however, is the role that gender based violence plays in the water security issue. We know that women are at risk of both physical and sexual violence when searching for water in remote areas at unsafe times of the day and night; we know that women are at risk of both sexual and physical violence when searching for a safe place to relieve themselves when sanitation facilities are not available and cultural norms invoke tropes of modesty; we know that women are subject to violence at the hands of their male partners when they do not successfully deliver on their domestic responsibilities, including provision of water. We know these things because of reports in the media and because of the stories women tell other women. We do not, however, know these things systematically and rigorously in a way that would allow us to add to the body of knowledge around water security and health or provide evidence that could be used in influencing policy toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to embarking upon such a complex, culturally sensitive research program, we have explored alternative ontological and epistemological mechanisms for doing this well, and doing it right. In so doing we have explored a range of epistemologies from allyship, integrated knowledge translation, community based participatory research, among others. We light on what we think is the most comprehensive north star for this type of research: this involves a set of 6 principles established by the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (https://www.ccghr.ca/resources/principles-global-health-research/). These principles have recently been mandated by the national health research council in Canada (Canadian Institutes for Health Research) across all areas of medical and health research funding. In this paper, we explore their meaning and application to the question of water security and gender based violence for without water (SDG6), there is no life; without life, no health (SDG3); without the empowerment of women (SDG5), there is neither.
