Toilets in public places, how long do we have to hold it?

Every one of us has at some point needed a toilet in a public place. We just rarely stop to think about them, only when we can’t find them.

Think now about homeless people, workers who spend most of their day on the streets such as waste pickers’ collectives, people with urinary incontinence such as pregnant women or elderly people. Think of people with Chrons disease or chronic diarrhoea, people who menstruate… Those people rely even more on facilities open to the public to access basic sanitation. In many cities where water services do not reach all households, toilets in public places can be the only point of access to water, sanitation and hygiene to most vulnerable people.

While there is consensus that sanitation is a human right, its implementation by States and local governments is still subject to interpretation, and even more so beyond the household, such as public areas.

Democratizing access beyond urban planning

The incorporation of toilets in public spaces is increasingly becoming part of the urban projects of our cities. Architects and decision-makers understand that a sustainable, green, friendly and healthy city is one that provides safe and clean facilities to all citizens’ needs. An example of this is the “transparent toilets” project in Tokyo (Japan). Through innovative designs, the japanese city is turning toilets in various parks from dark and opaque spaces into a tourist attraction.

However, the example of Tokyo is far from being the norm. The UN Rapporteur on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation has raised the issue of sanitation in other spheres of life outside of the household, in order to clarify requirements and provide for sanitation facilities in public places.

Even so, toilets in public places can be very different in order to respond to the needs of different groups. Toilets that may be acceptable for a young adult man may not be acceptable for an older woman. A tourist in a hurry may be willing to pay for a one-time use, while a recycler may not be willing to spend money every day to fulfull basic needs. A person with reduced mobility would have much more difficulty accessing a toilet if it is not physically adapted.

For all these people, toilets in public spaces are much more than a question of urban planning, they are a question of health, hygiene and dignity. They are a matter of human rights and need to be addressed as such. Sanitation services must not only provide to the vast majority, but serve every individual and their different needs.

A human rights approach to sanitation

Since 2018, at the Stockholm International Water Institute, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, have been studying access to toilets in public spaces from a human rights perspective. We have reviewed service provision in different cities, including San Jose in Costa Rica and Barranquilla in Colombia, in regards to the normative criteria of the rights approach. Our study shed light on the following challenges:

1. Availability

In most cases, there is an even number of toilets for men and toilets for women, not counting the urinals. For physiological reasons, women take longer to urinate than men. This usually results in longer waiting time to access women’s toilets. Therefore, the number of toilet stalls for women should be increased, following a recommended ratio is 2:1 (women:men).