Drowning and accident prevention in the aquatic environment

The main objective of this workstream is to reduce the number of drowning and accidents in the water. These causes of accidental death have an uneven impact on the population, being the people living in environments of poverty and marginality the most affected by this global problem. For all the above, the following intervention proposals are presented:

  • To promote Social Justice through the inclusion of knowledge and skills related to the aquatic environment in the curricula of compulsory education. The implementation of this measure would guarantee everybody the opportunity to be autonomous and independent in the water and, in this way, would ensure that disadvantaged people are not excluded from the right to interact with this medium safely. In short, it is about democratizing access to water from the earliest ages, so that all people consider water as a way of improving health, enjoying leisure time or finding a professional opportunity.
 
  • To prioritize the protection of people most prone to drownings, such as people with a low level of competition in water, people with functional diversity or people with a pathology that may compromise their autonomy in this environment, and people who live in environments of poverty and marginality.
 
  • To empower the entire population so that they know how to identify and select those aquatic spaces, transports and infrastructures that have the necessary security measures adapted to all people. Increasing the critical capacity of the population will help the competent authorities and institutions to provide the necessary resources to make the relationship with the aquatic environment safer, more inclusive and socially just.
 
  • To investigate those factors that directly influence the safety of all people who use the aquatic environment, such as risk factors, lifeguards, rescue materials, devices for preventing drowning, facilities, etc. The results of these investigations should serve to justify the application and implementation of measures that improve the safety of all people and, therefore, contribute to Social Justice.
 
  • To promote rescue and first aid as “a sport that saves lives”, which fosters solidarity among human beings and which equips its athletes with the necessary skills to rescue people who may require it from the water.