The following opinion pieces address violence against women and girls in India, where a lack of toilets contributes to the problem.

Huffington Post: When is Enough, Enough? India’s Women and Girls Must Be Safe to Live Their Lives
Sarah Degnan Kambou, president of the International Center for Research on Women

“In late 2012, New Delhi women and girls surveyed by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) told us that they feared walking on the street, visiting the market, even waiting on a bus. They told us they worried they would be grabbed, assaulted, screamed at, or raped. … But ICRW wants to better understand what is happening in households and on street corners in India, in terms of people’s attitudes and behaviors related to sexual violence; women and girls’ sense of safety; and the government’s response to attacks…” (6/12).

Huffington Post: When Women Are Dying to Go to the Toilet, We Can’t Just Do Nothing
Sanjay Wijesekera, chief of water, sanitation and hygiene, and associate director of programs at UNICEF

“…We can and must do better. For the children who are paying the ultimate price; for the women who suffer the indignity and are exposed to the dangers which claimed the lives of two innocent teenagers in Uttar Pradesh. It may be like moving mountains — and literally mountains of feces in this case — but there is no doubt that when we collectively put our minds to it we can find the solution for this seemingly intractable problem. … Before another young girl or woman pays the ultimate price just for doing what everyone has to: defecate” (6/12).