Celebrating IDAHOBIT with a focus on SGM inclusion in WASH

A blue and purple graphic with a quote from a transgender person that says, "“Transgender persons are not thought of when government or anyone talks about toilets. If you do not include us, how can you be inclusive?”

“Transgender persons are not thought of when government or anyone talks about toilets. If you do not include us, how can you be inclusive?”

Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT)! And to celebrate we’ll be sharing some practical tips, learning and considerations for water and WASH practitioners in partnering with sexual and gender minority (SGM) organisations to improve WASH outcomes for all. This guidance is drawn from insights from our partners and RHOs who fed into our ‘Partnerships for Transformation: Guidance for WASH and Rights Holder Organisations' launched last year.

In the WASH sector, we are striving to leave no one behind so that the Sustainable Development Goals can be fully realised. Therefore it is our responsibility to ensure access to WASH for all, while upholding the voice, dignity and agency of the most marginalised in the community.

Section 6 of our guidance looks at some of the drivers, benefits and challenges of partnerships between WASH and SGM organisations drawn from the research, literature and inputs from webinar participants. Tune in tomorrow for more!

We have also gathered together a collection of great resources in a toolkit on Partnerships between WASH and SGM organisations.

A tile promoting drivers of SGM inclusion in WASH

An inclusive agenda is vital for achieving sustainable WASH for all. This means WASH organisations should partner with SGM organisations to reach these traditionally marginalised and left behind groups and meet their WASH needs and interests.

So what are some of the drivers for partnerships between WASH & SGM RHOs?

Improved WASH and inclusion outcomes – more inclusive programs that meet multiple needs
Challenging norms – deepening understanding, shifting power and improving cultural awareness
Organisational benefits that improve outcomes – it’s about shared power of the WASH program & localisation

A blue and purple graphic promoting some of the benefits of SGM inclusion in WASH

In India, our partner, Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) formed a partnership with Sakha, an Odisha-based transgender rights organisation, in support of transgender-led inclusive WASH. Sakha is now shaping LGBTQI+friendly public WASH facilities and integration of transgender issues into urban planning.

Further, the Odisha Government has recognised the CFAR–Sakha partnership model and is replicating it across 13 districts!

There are many benefits to partnerships between WASH and SGM organisations when working together to improve WASH outcomes:

Improved inclusion and WASH outcomes - a strengthened WASH system leaves no one behind
Social transformation – such as increased household capacity through empowerment, empowered SGM community members and increased voice and understanding
Stronger organisational performance - strengthened WASH inclusion processes = greater understanding and effective collaboration

A blue and purple graphic promoting some of the challenges of SGM inclusion in WASH

Despite evolving inclusive practices at the global level, Water for Women partners found that some staff struggled to engage or work with SGM communities due to a lack of understanding or historical taboos. The challenges are multi-faceted and we can learn from our experiences in overcoming them.

So what are some of the challenges that come from partnerships between WASH & SGM RHOs?

Culturally, politically, socially taboo subjects
Government restrictions on approaches
Organisational barriers
Different capacities – to formalise partnerships, mismatched technical understanding
Difficulty with scale – and ‘walking the talk’
Limitations - on time & resources
Creation of unsafe environments through data collection

A blue and purple graphic promoting a toolkit of resources for SGM inclusion in WASH

While positive steps have been taken to ensure inclusion of sexual and gender minorities, there remains many gaps and the sector can certainly do better. Partnerships are key, our guidance can help water and WASH practitioners do better in this area. We have also gathered together a great list of resources to help facilitate good partnerships between WASH organisations and sexual and gender minority organisations based on the resources.

Access our Partnerships between WASH and SGM organisations toolkit.