This video is a recording of a webinar introducing the Women's Empowerment metric for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH).
What is WE-WASH?
The Women’s Empowerment metric for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH) tool is a set of 14 indicators that measure empowerment across different domains of agency and different areas of WASH. The 14 indicators may be selected based on project needs (i.e., WE-WASH is a dashboard, not an index). The indicators are spread across six themes, as follows:
- Instrumental agency in WASH
- Input into household-level WASH infrastructure decisions
- Receives help on WASH activities (when wanted)
- Does not spend undue time on WASH activities
- Intrinsic agency in WASH
- WASH experiences do not generate negative affect
- Feels lack of water does not limit normal activities
- Collective agency in WASH
- Community comes together on WASH issues
- Individual participates in and benefits from community WASH activities
- WASH empowerment environment (resources for empowerment)
- Feels safe while gathering water and conducting personal hygiene
- Does not avoid places out concern for a safe place to urinate or defecate
- Instrumental and intrinsic agency related menstrual hygiene
- Women do not need to be separated while menstruating
- Menstruation is a normal part of life for women
- Freedom of movement and to do as desired while menstruating
- Menstrual hygiene empowerment environment (resources for empowerment)
- Access to facilities for menstrual hygiene needs
- Access to menstrual products
All 14 WE-WASH indicators were developed in rural Malawi and Nepal, though WE-WASH can be used in a broad range of contexts.
WE-WASH guides and instruments
📥Download WE-WASH module
📥Download WE-WASH indicator definitions
📥Download WE-WASH enumerator manual