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they rarely have the control over householdresources that would enable them to make thedecision to invest in a toilet. Where there are nosanitation facilities, women and girls will often onlyrelieve themselves under the cover of darkness,seeking private spaces and potentially riskingviolence or attack by animals on the way. 252 Womenand girls who use shared sanitation facilities ininformal settlements may be exposed to a veryreal threat of violence. 253Stigmatization can result in socialexclusion from water and sanitationservicesEven where water and sanitation services areavailable, stigma can result in entire groupsbeing disadvantaged and excluded from accessbased on caste, race, ethnicity or gender. 254 InIndia, for example, Dalits are often not allowedto use taps and wells located in non-Dalit areas,and Dalit women are made to stand in separatequeues near the bore well to fetch water afterthe non-Dalits have finished. 255 In Slovenia, therequirement of proof of ownership or authorizedoccupation for receiving municipal services hasbeen a major barrier to Roma communities’access to water. Experience with waiving suchrequirements has been positive: all but three ofthe 38 Roma settlements in Prekmurje region,for example, have gained access to water andsanitation after removal of these conditions. Bycontrast, targeting vulnerable groups can furtherentrench stigmatization. Shower programmesfor Roma children in some Eastern EuropeanFigure 3.13Percentage distribution of the water collection burden, in sub-Saharan African households without piped wateron the premises, 2006-2009Women and girls are the primary water carriers for their families in sub-Saharan Africa62+23+6+9ABoys6%Men23%Girls9%Women62%Source: UN 2012.Note: Based on population-weighted averages from 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.