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the Geneva-based Water Supply and SanitationCollaborative Council (WSSCC). The campaigntravelled 2,000 kilometres across rural parts of thecountry in 2012, reaching over 12,000 women andgirls with the message that menstruation is just asnatural as hunger or sweating and that there is noneed to be ashamed or afraid. 282Similarly, Plan International set out to addressstereotypes in CLTS projects in West Africa. InSierra Leone, for example, projects started withan assessment of attitudes related to genderstereotypes around sanitation. Based on theinformation gathered, awareness-raising sessionswere organized to tackle attitudes concerning thework considered to be that of women and girls,such as cleaning latrines, washing clothes anddishes, sweeping, fetching water and cleaningand dressing children. According to the projectdocumentation, these efforts have been successfulin changing attitudes: for example, since theawareness-raising campaign, girls and boys do thesweeping and cleaning of latrines and facilities ona rotational basis. 283RecommendationsInvesting in water and sanitation services is not onlyessential for the realization of the right to water. Italso has the potential to unburden women and girls,enhance their physical safety and promote theirenjoyment of a range of other rights, including therights to education, health, work, rest and leisure.Concrete steps to advance towards substantiveequality in water and sanitation include:• Extend water and sanitation services tounderserved areas, particularly poor ruralareas and low-income settlements in urbanareas, as a matter of priority• Ensure water is accessible on householdpremises or requires no more than 30 minutescollection time for a round trip including queuing• Keep access to water and sanitation servicesaffordable through effective governmentregulation, connection charge waivers, propoortariffs and subsidies• Design and deliver water and sanitationservices with women and girls’ needs in mind• Raise awareness of taboo issues such asobstetric fistulae and menstrual hygiene, whichcan limit women and girl’s access to services• Increase opportunities for women usersand women’s organizations to participatein decision-making on and management ofwater and sanitation services.CONCLUSIONSSocial policy is essential to advance towardssubstantive equality for women: it can reduce povertyand inequality, bolster women’s income securityand economic independence and contribute to therealization of a broad set of economic and socialrights. But, as this chapter has shown, reforms andinnovations are needed in the provision of socialtransfers and social services to ensure that they reachwomen and girls and respond to their needs.First, redressing women’s socio-economicdisadvantage requires an integrated response.A combination of enabling social services andadequate social transfers is necessary to ensure that