Sex for water: what about that? The most frequently asked questions

Why do women and girls need to fetch water when it is so unsafe?

A question often asked is why men don't just fetch water when it is so dangerous for women and girls. The answer is that in many countries, fetching water for the household is traditionally a woman's task. Men are not involved in this, but rather, for example, provide water to livestock. Such traditions do not let themselves be changed overnight.

An important step is already to work together to ensure that women and girls get water closer to home and thus spend less time fetching water and do not have to risk their safety. Meanwhile, empowering women and countering violence against women is also important. In that approach, we also involve men.

Why don't women and girls just go to the police?

There are several reasons why victims of sextortion (sexual extortion) often do not go to the police, for example:

• Shame: Many victims feel ashamed and guilty about the situation and do not want to share this with others, even the police. 
• Fear: Some victims fear reprisals from the perpetrator, such as further intimidation or from those around them. There is also evidence that in some regions women and girls don’t trust the authorities to take their issues seriously.
• Ignorance: Some victims are unaware of their rights and the possibility of getting help from the police.

Why doesn’t the local government do anything against sextortion?

Precisely because victims of sexual extortion often do not talk about this and do not go to the police, there is little attention to this problem. That is why it is important that more attention is paid to sextortion and more research is done into it.

Based on this, governments can be held accountable for their responsibilities and policies. Part of Simavi's projects is to support local communities and local organisations in holding local and national governments accountable.

Why don't women manage the water points?

Where women manage water points, abuse of power and extortion are less common, according to field evidence. But this is still not common practise. It is therefore important that women hold more positions of power within the water sector. Many of our partners therefore lobby to get women into leadership positions.

What do climate and water scarcity have to do with sextortion?

Climate change has major consequences for the availability of clean drinking water. Increasing water scarcity exacerbates existing problems and increases the scope for abuse of power.

Women and girls sometimes have no choice but to trade sex for water. The greater the scarcity, the more likely women are to be pressured to have sex for water.

When women have access to sufficient and clean water, they are less dependent on men forcing them to have sex in exchange for water. Improving access to water and sanitation is therefore an essential step in preventing and addressing sextortion.

Sign the petition

Being extorted to have sex in exchange for drinking water. It happens, and it is unacceptable. We believe that everyone, everywhere in the world should have safe access to drinking water. Water is a human right and should never be used as a means of extortion, corruption or sextortion. Women and girls must be protected from the extreme consequences of the climate and water crisis. Our petition Stop Sex for Water addressed to the United Nations Special Rapporteur is one way to contribute to this.