Access to sanitation in workplaces: how does it look when the office is the street?

Abstract

Thematic Area: Right to the cities, Built Environment

Public toilets are fundamental urban facilities to guarantee the right to sanitation in public spaces and, more generally, the right to inclusive and sustainable cities. The lack of adequate sanitation solutions in public spaces ends up reinforcing inequalities and leaving some groups more neglected than others, namely: women and girls, people with disabilities, transgender people, homeless people and informal street workers (Heller, 2019).

In order to ensure that these facilities comply with the need of everyone in public spaces, according to human rights standards, five assumptions must be followed: i) availability, that is, solutions with adequate quantity according to local demand; ii) accessibility, so that solutions are accessible to all on a continuous basis; iii) affordability, so that charging for access does not limit the use of people due to their financial conditions; iv) quality and safety, so that there is no unacceptable harm to the user’s health; v) dignity, acceptability and privacy, to ensure that the demand of all users is met without constraint (Heller, 2019).

So far, few studies were identified in the literature bringing the perspective of the human right to sanitation in public spaces. Concerning studies in Brazil, Silva (2017) assessed the situation of people living in homelessness in Belo Horizonte and their access to water and sanitation. The study of Moreira (2021) addressed the normative elements of human rights in the analysis of the management of public toilets on Pampulha Lake Shore, in Belo Horizonte, a study that raises the need for greater depth in the experience of street workers in relation to access to sanitation.

Workers who perform their activities on the streets might face health problems due to the lack of sanitary solutions and having to take time away from work, which can cause economic loss, as many of them work as self-employed (Heller, 2019). Some studies carried out in Brazil highlight the importance of the availability of public toilets for street workers. Street vendors in Uruguaiana St., an important commercial center in the city of Rio de Janeiro, pointed out the lack of public toilets as their main challenge (Moreira, 2008). Two studies reported the need for street vendors to rely on the solidarity of colleagues to look at their belongings while moving to use the toilet (Costa, 2007; Ayala, 2015). In São Paulo, 32% of the 360 ​​workers from the city center interviewed told that they used the public toilet up to twice a day, with the majority staying outside the home for more than 11 hours (Ianamura, 2006).

Meher and Gatole (2020) conducted a study with street vendors in India and found that 44% of the 50 respondents had symptoms of urinary tract diseases related to the lack of public toilets, especially among women. Impacts on women can be even greater, when public toilets are missing, considering their biological needs such as in situations of menstruation and pregnancy (Greed, 2016).

Key words: Public toilets. Sanitation. Sustainability. Public Health.

References

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