Bodily Integrity. Bodily integrity is defined by xxx Xxxxxxxxx et al. (2017) as “a woman or girl having control over her physical and mental well-being.” (xxx Xxxxxxxxx et al. 2017). Findings from previous research shows that women will withhold food and water to prevent the need of having to urinate or defecate, suppress the need to urinate or defecate, or wait until late night and early morning to safely find a private place to relieve themselves in the dark(Xxxxxx et al. 2017; Xxxxxx et al. 2017; Xxxxxx and Das 2016; Xxxxxxx et al. 2015; Xxxxx et al. 2015). Women and girls adapt by suppressing when they feel that their safety or privacy is being compromised in their sanitation experiences. Research also shows that due to sanitation related environmental and psycho-social stressors, women and girls also suffer from various mental health issues (Xxxxx et al. 2018). Research has shown that safety and privacy are main components of bodily integrity and are integral to “a woman or girl having control over her physical and mental well-being”(xxx Xxxxxxxxx et al. 2017).
Bodily Integrity. The definition of bodily integrity used for this study is “a woman or girl having control over her physical and mental well-being.” (xxx Xxxxxxxxx et al. 2017). Participants in this study expressed thoughts and concerns for issues that impacted their physical and mental well-being such as infections, cleanliness of facility, pregnancy, suppression and violence. For the purpose of this research the definition of bodily integrity included issues related to infections, cleanliness of facility, pregnancy, suppression and violence and the 16 transcripts were coded for bodily integrity if any of those issues were mentioned. Impact that poor sanitation facilities have on women’s physical health outcomes Cleanliness of the sanitation facility and perceived risk of catching a disease directly impacted women’s sanitation-related bodily integrity. Many women reported that they experienced a negative health impact from using a dirty facility. Specifically, almost all of the participants expressed fear of catching a disease due to the cleanliness of their facility. Roughly half of the sixteen respondents reported that they had experienced one or more of the following from using a dirty sanitation facility: a Candida infection, itching of their pubic region, or stomach pain or cramps from using a dirty facility and or from suppressing the need to urinate or defecate. For example, one participant stated that “infections normally come as a result of using a dirty toilet.” (age 28, shared facility). Another participant shared that “we are too many people using the small toilets and a lot of infections and diseases come with it” where she also shared that she herself had experienced a Candida infection three times and has had itching in her private parts (age 22, shared facility). A third participant shared the concern that “women can get disease like Candida or Syphilis” when using a dirty facility (age 19, shared facility). Impact poor sanitation facilities have on women’s mental health outcomes In addition to the physical health outcomes reported surrounding bodily integrity, mental health outcomes were also noted. Almost all the participants mentioned having some sort of feeling of fear, anxiety, or stress around using their preferred method of sanitation, whether from people, animals, catching a disease, lack of privacy, or using their sanitation facility at night. For instance, one participant stated that she “never feels calm at night” when using her sanitation facil...
Bodily Integrity. Being able to move freely from place to place; being able to be secure against violent assault, including sexual assault; having opportunities for sexual satisfaction and for choice in matters of reproduction
