Period Poverty

---

Period poverty is a lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management, or a combination of these. 

WORLDWIDE

* 80% of teens worldwide say they lack proper education about menstrual health. 

* 500 million women and girls cannot access menstrual products to handle their period. 

* Lack of resources for managing menstrual cycles negatively affects girls' lives, especially their ability to go to school and/or work.

 * “When menstruators resort to unhygienic alternatives, they are vulnerable to harmful physical and mental outcomes. Products like rags, paper towels, and reused pads put menstruators at a heightened risk for urogenital infections, such as urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis. These products are also associated with skin irritation, vaginal itching, and white or green discharge.” https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2020posts/period-poverty.html 

El SALVADOR

* Zero percent of women in prisons and quarantine centers during COVID-19 in El Salvador had access to a stable source of menstrual products.  

* The United Nations pleaded for menstrual supplies for El Salvador during COVID-19, which Kirsten Close viewed, which led her to create MePower United (501c3). https://unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/imprisoned-quarantined-women-need-hygiene-supplies-el-salvador  

* Stigmas related to menstrual cycles are embarrassing and can lead to girls hiding their problems.  

* Due to cultural norms, minimal knowledge about puberty and menstrual cycles results in unpreparedness and fear of bodily functions

* The daily wage in El Salvador is $10.50, while the average daily cost of POOR QUALITY disposable menstrual pad pack of 5 is .75 cents to $1.00  (3 pads per day for 5 days= 3 packages). https://tradingeconomics.com/el-salvador/living-wage-individual 

UNITED STATES

*A survey from Harris Poll of 1,000 US teens who menstruate between ages 13 to 19 found that 1 in 5 cannot afford period products, and 84% report missing school due to a lack of menstrual products in the prior year. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0795/1599/files/State-of-the-Period-white-paper_Thinx_PERIOD.pdf?455788 

* Strict bathroom policies in schools lead to a fear of bleeding through teen girls' clothes.(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9580679/). 

* Lack of timely access can lead to embarrassment, stigma, and deflation of confidence for female students compared to their male counterparts https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6077264/

* Even if schools have menstrual products for free, they are usually in the nurse’s office across campus, requiring an embarrassing interaction with the nurse and often waiting behind students with medical issues.