Michael Abrahams | The harsh reality of period poverty

Amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, some great news emerged out of Scotland this year. In November, it was announced that the country would be the first to make period products free for all. The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill was introduced by MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) Monica Lennon, who has been spearheading a campaign to end period poverty for the last four years. The legislation mandates that local authorities ensure that items such as tampons and pads are available to “anyone who needs them”.

According to Lennon, the legislation is “practical and progressive”, adding that “periods don’t stop for pandemics and the work to improve access to essential tampons, pads and reusables has never been more important”. This act is just the latest salvo in Scotland’s assault on period poverty. In 2018, its government announced that students at schools, colleges and universities would have free access to sanitary products as part of a £5.2m scheme to fight period poverty.

Yes. Period poverty is a thing. Poverty in a generalised sense is freely discussed, but because of the stigma associated with menstruation, and the treatment of women as second-class citizens in many geographic locations, the issue of period poverty is absent from many radars. But it ought not to be. The term refers to the lack of access to feminine sanitary products due to financial constraints and is more prevalent than many of us realise.

The average woman spends 2,535 days of her life menstruating. This means she needs to somehow obtain access to enough pads, tampons and other menstrual products, as well as water and proper sanitation, to manage the bleeding she experiences for almost seven years of her life.

Unfortunately, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 2.3 billion people on the planet live without basic sanitation services, and in developing countries, only 27 per cent of people have adequate handwashing facilities at home. This affects both males and females, but with the added burden of menstruation, the inability to access these affects the quality of life of menstruating females disproportionately, significantly impairing their ability to manage their periods safely and with dignity.

GLOBAL ISSUE

The issue is a global one. UNICEF reported that in Bangladesh, many families cannot afford menstrual products and use old clothing, and in India, its ministry of health reported that only 12 per cent of menstruators have access to sanitary products, leading some women and girls to use unsafe materials like rags and sawdust as alternatives.

And citizens of developed countries are not exempt. In Scotland, a survey carried out by Young Scot, the national information and citizenship organisation supported by the Scottish government for young people ages 11–26 years, found that about one in four respondents at school, college or university in Scotland had struggled to access period products. Another study carried out by Plan International UK, a girls’ rights charity, found that about 10 per cent of girls in the UK have been unable to afford period products; 15 per cent have struggled to afford them; and 19 per cent have changed to a less suitable product due to cost. In the United States, The Always Confidence and Puberty Wave VI Survey (conducted by the company that makes Always feminine hygiene products), found that nearly one in five American girls have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to period products.

Period poverty is not just about inconvenience. The consequences can be long-term and deleterious not only to the females affected, but also to their offspring and the societies in which they live. Poor menstrual hygiene can affect a woman’s physical health and place her at risk for developing reproductive and urinary tract infections. It can also be a barrier to women reaching their full potential when they are forced to miss classes at educational institutions or days at work. Young girls who do not receive an education are at risk for adolescent and complicated pregnancies, domestic violence and, in some cultures, child marriage and its deleterious sequelae. The inability to properly manage one’s menstruation can also have psychosocial effects on a woman, leading to shame and social withdrawal.

We need to do all we can to fight period poverty. One of the first steps in this direction is to normalise menstruation and destroy the stigma and taboos surrounding it. Policies regarding not only the availability of menstrual products, but also the accessibility of proper sanitation and hygiene, also need to be prioritised.

According to Sanjay Wijesekera, former UNICEF chief of water, sanitation and hygiene, “Meeting the hygiene needs of all adolescent girls is a fundamental issue of human rights, dignity, and public health.” He is right.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator, and human-rights advocate. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or tweet @mikeyabrahams.