It's already a shame for anyone to have to defecate in the open — but it's even worse when you're a girl.
And it’s not just shame. In many parts of the world, the lack of latrines makes women and girls more vulnerable to sexual attacks. WaterAid told us the story of Bhawna, a 19-year-old Indian girl who used to fear being raped every time she needed to do her business, but now feels much safer after the organization helped install a low-cost latrine inside her house.
But having access to a toilet is not enough to guarantee security for females in a society such as India’s, where in many parts of the country women and girls are treated as second class citizens and those that abuse them are often never held accountable.