Lack of water services leave women and girls vulnerable to 'sextortion'
By Jenny Lei Ravelo // 27 March 2023
It’s a staggering statistic: Women and girls worldwide spend 200 million hours each day collecting water. But it’s just one part of the challenges they go through because of the lack of access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in many parts of the world.
Anita Soina, global youth champion on WASH at Sanitation and Water for All in Kenya, said it’s tough having to listen to stories of girls having sex in exchange for menstrual pads, and their mothers having sex for water.
“They’re not feeling okay doing it, but then sextortion is a thing,” Soina said on Thursday during a Devex event held on the sidelines of the U.N. Water Conference.
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
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