Redefining Water Violence: Identifying themes, factors and causes of water violence

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'Water conflict' is a well-used term that describes a variety of situations associated with disagreements related to water. However, although current categorisation is strong, it does exclude occurrences that are significant and includes others which arguably are not. Moving away from the restrictions of the academic definition of conflict and expanding the concept into water related violence instead, allows for further exploration into factors, themes, and links beyond the current groupings, which will be beneficial for ongoing research into water violence. Understanding causes and identifying themes between instances of water violence could be used as a mechanism to assist with prevention as well as management of water violence - for example, if gender was identified as a key theme, policy or methods could be adapted to incorporate this into IWRM schemes to reduce water violence. Currently, it is not clear if there are there are common factors and themes in water violence beyond Gleick's grouping of weapon, trigger, casualty. A systematic literature review should be able to further identify themes and factors and create further categorisation. Once identified, small-scale case studies could be used to 'test' the categories. A systematic review also allows for easier comparison between the literature and can identify and potentially negate bias in primary research, as well as ascertaining both themes and anomalies. The resulting research should provide greater understanding of causes and factors of 'water violence', that could be used by other academics to conduct further research, professionals to adapt IWRM programmes and governments to guide policy to make water services resilient against water violence.