Dear Tanya,

I added the "Shining a light" report to the SuSanA Library and you can now find the entry via this link: www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource...library/details/3609

Best regards,
Magdalena

Hi Tanya,
Just to be clear about my background I do have experience with biogas and with sanitation. I don´t have experience with refugee camps, but the theme you brought up seen crucial to me just some aspects to consider.
a) Biogas direct use to fire a lantern might be a theoretical possibility, but the infrastructure needed would be way too dangerous. People might want to use the biogas for oter purposes.
b) Biogasproeduction for electric energy would be difficult as you would have to produce the energy in a secure area, protected against robbery and vandalism.
c) I would think (again - without experience in refugee camps) the best would be the use of solar lighting which you can install without any infrastructure and put on a high pole where it is (more or less) protected from robbery… and the replacement .. if needed is relatively cheap.. But I guess this idea others had before. I´m just writing this in case of the situation that the idea did not come up.
Good luck
Christoph

Thanks so much Elizabeth!

You gave me a lot to read!

Best Regards

Dear Tanya,

Thanks for the two resources that you linked to. They make for very sobering and depressing reading, regarding the amount of gender-based violence (GBV) women in refugee camps around the world face when accessing toilets and also in general. Very sad. Better lighting could help a little bit but there is a myriad of cultural, societial, infrastructure etc. problems.

I am adding here the titles of the two resources that you linked to so that they can be found with keyword searches of the forum:
Shining a Light - How lighting in or around sanitation facilities affects the risk of gender-based violence in camps (oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstre...gender-211218-en.pdf)
We must do more to make emergency sanitation safer by Rachel Hastie (views-voices.oxfam.org.uk/2019/03/emergency-sanitation-safer/)

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi Yuri,

Yes, biogas production (also for lighting) from wastewater is known and used, see this forum sub-category:
forum.susana.org/171-biogas-sanitation-s...on-biogas-production

It's not common in humanitarian settings probably because it requires a more permanent structure than what you normally have in refugee camps.

Would you like to tell us more about the models you have in mind? Have you installed some in Honduras?

Regards,
Elisabeth

Has anybody considered to use waste water to produce biogas. This could be useful to produce light and to increase the cycle of cleaning.+
There's some model available in the market that are ready to install.
Cheers peeps!

Dear Elisabeth,

With apologies for the slow reply (notifications appear to be off!), the most comprehensive response to your queries can be found within the research report that informed the Sani Tweaks series. The statistical findings that indicate low usage rates are outlined (and segregated by gender) throughout – and the WHY behind male/female latrine segregation is detailed at pages 6 and 7 of the report.

For context, this research was conducted by Oxfam (in collaboration with the Water Engineering and Development Centre at the University of Loughborough) in 2017-18 and focused on how lighting of emergency sanitation facilities can reduce the risks of gender based violence. The research included three field studies in camps in Iraq, Nigeria and Uganda as well as eight brief case studies on lighting in camps.

You may also find the recent blog post by Rachel Hastie (Oxfam’s Global Protection Advisor) useful for further context.

Best regards,

Tanya

Dear Tanya,

Thanks for posting this! I am surprised by a figure quoted in your video at the start, saying that "40% of women do not use the latrines that we provide". Thank you for being honest about this failure! What is the value for men? Is it similar or even less (I would have thought women are more diligent toilet users than men)?



Secondly, I find it interesting that you are stressing this very strict segregation of toilets for men and women, when there seems to be a slowly emerging trend worldwide to look more into the unisex toilet options for a variety of reasons (one being that the binary concept of gender is being questioned).
See for example here where we discussed this on the forum: forum.susana.org/170-shared-toilets-comm...ender-gender-neutral

But perhaps in the humanitarian context things are different and the designs tend to be a bit more conservative / old-fashioned / robust. Interestingly, we seem to have given up on addressing male violence against women in this context and think / hope that just be separating out their toilet blocks we already "solve" the problem... It's a sad situation with no easy answers! *

Regards,
Elisabeth

* this reminds me of a tweet from the excellent satirical account @manwhohasitall:

TODAY'S DEBATE: Should men be expected to go running in groups in case women attack them?

twitter.com/manwhohasitall

Hi everyone,

For those of you who attended the 26th SuSanA meeting in Stockholm, you will already be familiar with Oxfam’s recently produced Sanitation Green Card. This guide was developed in collaboration with SuSanA to promote best practices in sanitation, for the benefit of the sector as a whole. It is very much intended to be used as universal guidance by all agencies and adapted to suit individual needs.

The illustrated Green Card was piloted amongst field staff in September/October and has now been updated to incorporate some of the feedback, along with a brand-new title…so without further ado, I give you the Sani Tweaks series: www.oxfam.org.uk/sanitweaks

‘Tweaks’ refers to incorporating user feedback to improve latrines in emergencies – with the aim of increasing latrine usage, especially by women. It is available in both English and French, and even as an animation, for those who prefer to watch and listen rather than read!

Feedback, comments and ideas all very much welcome.

Enjoy!

Tanya