The Hidden Struggle: Period Poverty and Its Global Impact
Did you know that on any given day around 300 million people will have their period (Zivi, 2020)? Most of us who menstruate and who are reading this don’t think twice about whether we can purchase the products we need to manage our periods each month. However, menstruators around the world, including some in the United States, are affected by period poverty which can have significant negative impacts on all aspects of their life.
Period poverty is defined as inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and education, including but not limited to menstrual products, bathroom facilities, and waste management (Crays, 2020). It is an issue that not only affects menstruators in the developing world, but also many here in the U.S.. According to Zivi (2020), “Those who menstruate will spend, on average, 3,500 days of their lives bleeding and, in the United States, those fortunate enough to have the resources can find themselves spending more than $3000 in a lifetime buying menstrual products.”.
Menstruation should not be a barrier to receiving an education, however that is the reality for many worldwide. Many K-12 schools in the US do not provide menstrual products for free, unlike other necessities such as soap and toilet paper. In a study of 693 school aged menstruators, 12.7% missed school, 15.01% were late to school, and 23.91% left school early because they did not have access to menstrual products (Cotropia, 2019). Of those who needed menstrual products at school, 73% said they were too embarrassed to ask an administrator or teacher for help (Cotropia, 2019).
There is a growing national movement to eliminate the barriers to accessing menstrual products in schools. As of June 1, 2024, 27 states and Washington D.C. have passed legislation to allow for free menstrual products in schools. While this is certainly progress in the right direction, there is a lack of uniformity and conditions for implementation among the initiatives. For example, some states have fully funded legislation, while others are unfunded mandates. Regardless, having menstrual products available in bathrooms at no cost to students is cause to celebrate, and we want to highlight some of the most successful initiatives in the U.S:
- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon all fund and require free period products in public schools.
To help break harmful taboos and stigmas surrounding menstruation, consider donating to PridePads Africa .Your generous donations allow us to continue providing menstrual health education seminars and free menstrual pads to local students, allowing them to stay in school while on their period.
With heartfelt gratitude,
PridePads Africa Board of Directors
Sources
Alliance For Period Supplies. 2023. https://allianceforperiodsupplies.org/
Crays, A. (2020). Menstrual equity and justice in the United States. Sexuality, Gender & Policy, 3(2), 134–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/sgp2.12023
Cotropia, C. A. (2019). Menstruation Management in United States Schools and Implications for Attendance, Academic Performance, and Health. Women’s Reproductive Health, 6(4), 289–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/23293691.2019.1653575
Zivi, K. (2020). Hiding in Public or Going with the Flow: Human Rights, Human Dignity, and the Movement for Menstrual Equity. Human Rights Quarterly, 42(1), 119–144. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2020.0003