The 'Shame Question' in CLTS. Otieno, P. V. (2012)
There has been an interesting debate going on about the elements of shame, fear and disgust used during CLTS triggering session. The debate has been between those who believe that the element of shame as applied during a CLTS trigger is unethical as it amounts to degrading and embarrassing the community, and those who believe that the element of shame is actually positive, and that it indeed awakens the community to the realities of open defecation.
My take is that both groups are genuinely concerned about acting in the best interest of the community and the differences are based on misunderstandings. These misunderstandings may be due to the following reasons:
- Whether people have a common and shared understanding of what ‘shame’ means.
- Whether people have the same understanding on how to facilitate CLTS trigger.
The word shame is a controversial term as it is open to different interpretations depending on one’s culture or background. For as long as the interpretations vary from individual to individual, and from culture to culture then we shall remain stuck in a quagmire. So the first thing is to try and develop some common understanding.
Bibliographic information
Otieno, P. V. (2012). The 'Shame Question' in CLTS.
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