Sofia Perez

There is a moment every female-bodied tween dreads- the day your sporadic, temperamental period comes early and you’ve forgotten your pad. You’re stuck in the bathroom stall on a muggy summer afternoon in the middle of French and you know your only option is to stuff toilet paper into your panties and say a prayer. After class you’ll have to ask around to see if anyone will let you have one of their pads, but you’ll still have to sit in class for what feels like millenia, dreading any of several incriminating stains that could seep through. In school. In front of everyone. Blazed into your memory. After waddling back to class cautiously, precariously sitting yourself back down, you grab your pen and look up, trying to focus, but you can’t. Your mind is conjuring up a bloody red menagerie of worst-possible-scenarios, and now you’re starting to feel some cramps too. How do you say ‘to be on your period’ in French anyway?

Well it’s avoir ses règles, and for many menstruating people worldwide, a lack of adequate supplies to handle menstruation safely has led to what we now call period poverty. In fact, period poverty is considered a global health crisis. 

In fact, period poverty is considered a global health crisis.

Let’s take a step back though, because the word ‘period’ makes sense and so does ‘poverty’, but when the two are put together it starts to get a bit confusing. Truth be told, many definitions are circulating, some which center around being able to financially afford menstrual products, others with focus on access, education or awareness. In reality, period poverty counts as all of these. The definition I found to be most aligned with this all-encompassing definition is the one on Medical News Today, which states that “period poverty is a lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management, or a combination of these”.

Now while that sounds like a definite issue, what elevates it to the status of a global health crisis? In short, why should you care? Perhaps you’re even reading this as someone who has never menstruated or never will. 

cottonbro studio. Pexels, www.pexels.com/photo/sanitary-pad-on-white-background-3926751/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

If you’re a proponent of utilitarianism and appreciate a bit of hedonic calculus, join me as we crunch some numbers: There are about 8 billion people on this planet. According once again to Medical News Today, 500 million people who menstruate lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities. That’s about 6.25% of the global population having several days of discomfort on a monthly basis due to lacking access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities. If every person on the planet were a grain of sand, all 8 billion of us put together would weigh as much as a grand piano. If you were to take all 500 million of the people lacking menstrual products and hygiene facilities, they would weigh as much as three full size watermelons. Now let’s say you took the estimated 16.9 million people who menstruate living in poverty in the U.S. alone. If they were all grains of sand and you put them together, it would weigh as much as an iPad. In fact, a 2021 study found that almost two-thirds of women in the U.S. with a low income could not afford menstrual products in the last year, while nearly half sometimes had to choose between buying food or menstrual products. 

According once again to Medical News Today, 500 million people who menstruate lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities. That’s about 6.25% of the global population having several days of discomfort on a monthly basis…

This kind of constant stress at the back of someone’s mind every month for several days can prevent them from participating in their education or careers, which has significant economic implications for their ability to financially support themselves and their families, as well as their participation in the wider economy. 

Undoubtedly, this is a concern from the very first time a young person gets their period. One widely-quoted statistic is that one out of every ten African girls misses school due to menstruation, although there is admittedly much difficulty in measuring absences and the reasons for them. That said, poor school attainment nevertheless “reduces girls’ economic potential over her life course, impacts population health outcomes; which extends to girls’ sexual and reproductive health outcomes, self-esteem, and sense of control”.

The impacts of this also affect women already in the workforce. According to the University of Leeds Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development’s 2019 report, results from a pilot menstrual health intervention by Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR) HER project show that 73% of women working in factories in Bangladesh missed work for an average six days a month. When the HER project provided pads and a behavior change work-based intervention, absenteeism dropped to 3%.

…results from a pilot menstrual health intervention by Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR) HER project show that 73% of women working in factories in Bangladesh missed work for an average six days a month.

Vaitkevich, Nataliya. Pexels, www.pexels.com/photo/red-and-white-heart-decors-5712294/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

With that in mind, we can imagine what it would look like to eradicate period poverty. In this ideal world, where menstrual health is neither stigmatized nor out of reach, people would have access to information about menstruation, life changes, and hygiene practices. They would be able to take care of themselves during menstruation. They’d have access to water, sanitation, and healthcare, the ability to receive a diagnosis for menstrual cycle disorders, a positive and supportive environment in which to make decisions, and the empowerment necessary to participate in all aspects of life, such as going to work, school, and anywhere else.

The tricky thing is how to get there. Of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, I could think of at least nine which tie into the trials and tribulations of period poverty, indicating that there is definitely a need for a solution. 

Below I’ve mentioned which ones I saw an immediate connection to and their number on the list of the seventeen total SDGs:

• 3. Good Health & Wellbeing
• 4. Quality Education
• 5. Gender Equality
• 6. Clean Water & Sanitation
• 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
• 10. Reduced Inequalities
• 12. Responsible Consumption and Production
• 13. Climate Action
• 16. Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions

So we’ve established that period poverty is a problem for everyone and that it’s necessary to overcome it in order to create a sustainable future. However, it’s a complicated quagmire of socioeconomic, cultural, biological, and anthropological factors that take creativity and collaboration to tackle. I can’t do it all by myself and nor can you, but we can make a start with a few simple steps and creative ideas. 

One way to deconstruct the stigma behind menstruation is through art. Through art we open ourselves up to bold curiosity; Through curiosity we open the door to normalization. As Dr. Jen Gunter, an outspoken gynecologist and science communicator says, “It shouldn’t be an act of feminism to know how your body works.” This attitude has been reflected by several artists already, such as Vanessa Tiegs, who creates menstralas to spread awareness about menstrual health; Sarah Naqvi, who uses embroidery to depict menstrual blood; or Rupi Kaur, whose controversial photograph of a woman with a menstrual blood stain was once temporarily removed from Instagram. 

“It shouldn’t be an act of feminism to know how your body works.”

Dr. jen gunter
author
science communicator
OB/GYN
& pain medicine physician

Another way to approach period poverty is by diving into the marriage between material science and menstruation, a marriage involving menstrual cups, tampons, pads, and the environment which sits on the receiving end of all we dispose of. By understanding how best to balance comfort, finance, women’s health, the environment, and the other forces at play, we can prevent women from having to make unjust sacrifices. 

No one should have to choose between buying tampons or food. No one should have to compromise their career or education because they can’t access menstrual products. No one should have to feel ashamed of the way their body functions. No one should have to worry about whether they can make it twenty hours with the same pad. So now it’s the job of you and me, dear reader, to address the neglected global health crisis of period poverty one word at a time. 

No one should have to choose between buying tampons or food. No one should have to compromise their career or education because they can’t access menstrual products. No one should have to feel ashamed of the way their body functions. No one should have to worry about whether they can make it twenty hours with the same pad.

Thought to Action 

1. Education: Investigate further about how to how to support menstruators and decrease the stigma relating to menstruation by:
   1. Asking questions & starting conversations about menstruation, menopause, period poverty, and bodily shame.
2. Consumption: If you menstruate, you can opt for products that are kind to the environment and kind to your body.
3. National Advocacy: Menstruators need the support of their government to provide the appropriate infrastructure and access to hygienic menstrual products. Protective legislation can ensure that everyone who menstruates receives this, while reducing taxes on menstrual products, making them available to all who need them. Check out this petition to end period poverty in the U.S.:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-end-period-poverty
4. Language: How we talk about issues like period poverty affects the way we think about them. Update some of your basic linguistic habits to remove the stigma around menstruation by checking out this link. 
5. Advertising: Inform businesses of how their advertising might promote bodily shame. Watch some of these empowering new ad campaigns that challenge toxic beauty standards.
   1. Dove’s #MyBeautyMySay
   2. Always’s #LikeAGirl
6. Legislation: Protective legislation can ensure affordable access to proper facilities and menstrual hygiene products. Governments can also reduce taxes on menstrual products, making them more affordable.

Sources

“E nānā mau i nā kumu,” is Hawaiian for “Always check your sources.”

Action Aid. “Period Poverty.” ActionAid UK, 2021, www.actionaid.org.uk/our-work/womens-rights/period-poverty. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

Bodyform. “What Is Period Poverty? | Bodyform.” Bodyform.co.uk, Bodyform, 20 Sept. 2018, www.bodyform.co.uk/our-world/period-poverty/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

Brooksbank, Kate. “Period Poverty: One in Eight Likely to Struggle to Afford Sanitary Products They Need in next Year | YouGov.” Yougov.co.uk, 14 Sept. 2022, yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/09/14/period-poverty-one-eight-likely-struggle-afford-sa. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

geng. “What Is Period Poverty?” Www.medicalnewstoday.com, 16 Sept. 2021, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/period-poverty#what-is-it.

Hampton, Janie. “Call a Period a Period: Exploring the Language and Knowledge of Menstruation.” Sanitation Learning Hub, 27 May 2021, sanitationlearninghub.org/2021/05/27/call-a-period-a-period-exploring-the-language-and-knowledge-of-menstruation/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

Menstrual Health Coalition. “Menstrual Health Coalition.” Menstrual Health Coalition, www.menstrualhealthcoalition.com/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

Periods Matter. “Period Poverty – the Facts.” Periods Matter, www.periodsmatter.co.uk/period-poverty-the-facts. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

Sedghi, Amy. “14 Best Sustainable Period Products, Reviewed.” The Independent, 6 Aug. 2021, www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/fashion-beauty/best-sustainable-period-products-uk-review-b1821265.html. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.

Unicef. “Menstrual Hygiene.” Unicef.org, 2020, www.unicef.org/wash/menstrual-hygiene. Accessed 18 Jan. 2023.