{"title":"Manual scavenging and the right to health in India - social and medicolegal perspectives.","authors":"Jai Mala, Roger W Byard, Navpreet Kaur","doi":"10.1177/00258024221126098","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Manual scavenging in India refers to the manual removal of human excreta from private dwellings and facilities maintained by municipal authorities. Human waste is collected from public streets and pit latrines, sewers and gutters, and septic tanks with bare hands, brooms or metal scrapers, placed into woven baskets or buckets, and then carried to disposal sites. The work is generally restricted to those occupying the lowest levels of the Indian caste system. Manual scavengers suffer from considerable societal disadvantages in addition to increased morbidity and mortality, associated with drowning in sewage, and to exposure to asphyxiating gases and to a wide variety of local and systemic infectious diseases. Life expectancy is shortened. Despite the passage of various national laws and periodic intervention by the courts, the 'dehumanising' practice of manual scavenging continues. In 2021 the National Human Rights Commission stated that claims that there are no manual scavengers in particular states in India are simply untrue.</p>","PeriodicalId":18484,"journal":{"name":"Medicine, Science and the Law","volume":"63 3","pages":"243-247"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medicine, Science and the Law","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00258024221126098","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"LAW","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Manual scavenging in India refers to the manual removal of human excreta from private dwellings and facilities maintained by municipal authorities. Human waste is collected from public streets and pit latrines, sewers and gutters, and septic tanks with bare hands, brooms or metal scrapers, placed into woven baskets or buckets, and then carried to disposal sites. The work is generally restricted to those occupying the lowest levels of the Indian caste system. Manual scavengers suffer from considerable societal disadvantages in addition to increased morbidity and mortality, associated with drowning in sewage, and to exposure to asphyxiating gases and to a wide variety of local and systemic infectious diseases. Life expectancy is shortened. Despite the passage of various national laws and periodic intervention by the courts, the 'dehumanising' practice of manual scavenging continues. In 2021 the National Human Rights Commission stated that claims that there are no manual scavengers in particular states in India are simply untrue.
期刊介绍:
Medicine, Science and the Law is the official journal of the British Academy for Forensic Sciences (BAFS). It is a peer reviewed journal dedicated to advancing the knowledge of forensic science and medicine. The journal aims to inform its readers from a broad perspective and demonstrate the interrelated nature and scope of the forensic disciplines. Through a variety of authoritative research articles submitted from across the globe, it covers a range of topical medico-legal issues. The journal keeps its readers informed of developments and trends through reporting, discussing and debating current issues of importance in forensic practice.