According to NPR Topics: News, women in Nairobi's largest slum are being threatened with sexual exploitation when they attempt to purchase clean water. The cartel that controls the only reliable water source is said to use rape threats and other attacks to pressure buyers into paying higher prices.
The report notes that the slum’s water supply is limited to a single local cartel, which creates an environment where women feel unsafe. Patrons have reported that the cartel’s workers issue sexual threats and, at times, physically assault shoppers to force compliance with inflated costs. NPR’s coverage emphasizes that these tactics are used as a means of extortion rather than an isolated incident.
This situation underscores how acute resource scarcity can fuel human rights abuses, especially against vulnerable women who lack alternative options for safe water.