Menstruation shouldn’t hold anyone back

Last year, I started a local grassroots initiative called the Period Priority Project in St. John’s, N.L. Within one year, we distributed more than 18,500 pads, tampons, period underwear and menstrual cups across Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Yukon.

We set up free menstrual products stations in the gender inclusive washrooms at Memorial University, Marine Institute, St. John’s College and the College of the North Atlantic in Corner Brook.

We partnered with the Prince of Wales Collegiate to host free reusable cloth pads sewing workshops for students. We hosted presentations in schools on period shaming and period poverty. We have a podcast where guest speakers shared lived experiences on endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, navigating menstruation as a plus-sized woman, and autoimmune diseases and menstruation, inter-alia.

We launched an interactive initiative called “People who Period” where folks share their first period stories, advice for youth, ideal period care kits, and more. We also have a digital resource bank on menstrual health education that is accessible to educators and students.

We recently launched a new initiative called “Degendering Menstruation” which aims to amplify the diversity of menstrual experiences. The Period Priority Project acknowledges the fact that not all cisgender women menstruate and not all those who menstruate are cisgender women; trans folks, intersex individuals, non-binary and two-spirit people may also menstruate. We are degendering menstruation. We are campaigning for period inclusivity.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Tampons can cost between $16 to $45 a package in remote Indigenous communities, which means that some youth use socks instead of tampons in Nunavut, while others have to miss school in Saskatchewan. Sustainable alternatives such as menstrual cups and reusable cloth pads are not a convenient option for all youth. Washing and caring for reusable period products requires clean, sanitary water, which is not a reality due to the 34 long-term drinking water advisories on reserves, including some that have been in place for more than 25 years, such as Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario.

In partnership with Leger, Plan International Canada conducted an online survey in April 2023 of 1,000 women aged 18-plus. The key findings are as follows:

• 82 per cent of Canadian respondents who menstruate believe that period products are expensive, and this increases to 88 per cent among menstruators aged 18 to 24.

• 82 per cent of women in Canada support access to free period products in public washrooms, and 95 per cent of 18to 24-year-old women agree.

• One in five women have felt judged or like they were treated unfairly at work or in their relationships because of their period.

• 78 per cent of 18- to 24-year-old women have felt the need to hide their period at school or work, and a shocking 51 per cent have felt the need to hide their period at home.

• More than half (54 per cent) of women aged 18 to 24 have felt embarrassed talking about their experiences with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

• 52 per cent of 18- to 24-year-old women think the word “period” is considered dirty or inappropriate in Canadian society.

• 65 per cent of Canadian women either did not receive any menstrual-health education – on anatomy, PMS, hygiene and related topics – or did but it wasn’t comprehensive.

• Around half (52 per cent) of respondents regularly avoid discussing periods and PMS with men in their personal or social circles due to shame or discomfort.

WORK CONTINUES

We are also the first and only initiative in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that focuses solely on menstrual equity.

While we have achieved some menstrual equity by breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes, we still have a long way to go to eradicate period poverty.