Combating Period Poverty: Making Menstrual Products Free in All Public Places

Suhanee Mitragotri

Introduction

A pressing issue facing our community today is the lack of free menstrual products in public buildings and spaces. Every day, menstruators are left without a feeling of security, worrying about if they have access to the supplies they need while being on their period. Just like toilet paper is free in all public restrooms, menstrual products, such as pads and tampons, should be available for free in public restrooms. There are many people who are not able to afford period products and live in what we call “period poverty.” Period poverty stems from the fact that access to menstrual products as well as private and clean places to use these products is not the same across all socio-economic statuses and geographic locations, and often individuals from low-income backgrounds suffer the most from the lack of period products and resources.¹ Additionally, period poverty is not limited only to a lack of menstrual products, but also includes being faced with limited access to menstrual education, water sanitation, and hygiene facilities. ¹ In order to ensure menstrual equity for all, all these sectors need to be secured. However, this will take time and the first step that needs to be taken is ensuring that all public places have free menstrual products. From there, we can increase the access to menstrual education and clean restrooms for menstruators to use.

Legislative Initiatives

Some cities and states across the US have already begun to take action. In the past few years, many states have drafted legislation and implemented new policies to increase access to menstrual products in public buildings, such as public school campuses. In May 2021, Maryland implemented Bill SB427/HB205, which requires public schools to provide free menstrual products. ² Furthermore, in July 2021, Oregon passed Bill HB 3294, which requires every public education provider to provide tampons and sanitary pads to students for free. ² As of November 28, 2022, at least 20 states have some requirements for public schools to provide menstrual products in student restrooms, but not all of the policies are as all-encompassing as others. ³ For example, in Alabama and Colorado, low-income schools are required to provide period products to students, but this does not include all the schools in these states. ³ In many states that have no legislation surrounding menstrual equity, individual school districts are implementing their own policies to ensure access to free menstrual products for all students. Additionally, some states include state universities in their menstrual equity policies, such as California, which passed Bill AB367 to ensure access to menstrual products in public schools (grades 6-12), community colleges, and California State Universities. ⁴ However, California is one of the few states that have expanded their policies to college campuses.

Impact on Students

Menstruation has a particularly large impact on school-going children and college students, especially because many of the menstruators in this age group are undergoing menstruation for the first time and are often most vulnerable to the social stigma surrounding menstruation itself. A study conducted by Cardoso et al. on college-aged women in the US revealed that 14.2% of the sampled women had experienced period poverty and compared to those who had never experienced period poverty, the women who were experiencing period poverty were more likely to report moderate/severe depression. ⁵ For menstruators experiencing period poverty, their basic need, which is access to menstrual products, is not met, and this can lead to detrimental impacts on one’s mental health and wellbeing. For children in elementary, middle, or high school, menstruation can be an even more stressful event, given the fact that all menstruators get their periods at different times and because menstruation is not discussed in all schools, many students are left in states of panic or confusion. Kuhlmann et al. conducted a study with high school students in St. Louis, MO, and they found that ⅓ of the students sampled reported missing school due to a lack of period products. ⁶ This can contribute to the rising inequality in public school education, because the lack of menstrual resources for students who come from low-income backgrounds also leads them to have a disadvantage in school due to missing classes. It is evident that a lack of period products impacts the academic and personal lives of students, therefore emphasizing the importance of ensuring period security to promote the wellbeing of students across the country.

Beyond Schools

There has also been a push in some states to provide free menstrual products at houseless shelters and housing assistance programs. While there are many factors that contribute towards a comfortable environment for menstruators, some of the key factors are access to safe and private toilets, adequate water, space to bathe, and menstrual products and supplies. ⁷ For those who are experiencing houselessness, many of these factors are lacking or not present at all, which leads to a very uncomfortable menstruating experience. Menstruators who are houseless have reported feeling a lack of privacy in unsanitary public restrooms while being on their period and not having a private space to go to when they want to deal with their period cramps and the pain that comes along with it. ⁸ Additionally, constantly moving locations and not having a reliable place to call home increases the level of stress that menstruating individuals face when houseless. ⁸ If houseless shelters across the country, along with all public restrooms, were stocked with free menstrual products, that would reduce some of the stress that many houseless individuals face when they are on their period. Some states have already made progress in this and are currently developing policies to provide free menstrual products to houseless shelters and housing assistance facilities. In August 2021, Illinois implemented Bill HB0310, which stated that free menstrual products would be available at all houseless shelters that provide temporary housing assistance to women or youth. ² Additionally, in December 2021, New York implemented Bill S.6572, which provided feminine hygiene products to menstruators receiving temporary housing assistance. ² However, Illinois and New York are two of the few total states that have implemented such legislation, meaning that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure that all menstruators have access to period products, regardless of their housing situation.

Conclusion

In general, it is evident that there have been efforts to make menstrual products available and free in school public restrooms and houseless shelters in certain states, but our efforts should not be limited to just these few states. Free menstrual products should be available in every public restroom across the US, not just in schools or shelters. Just like no one is expected to bring their own toilet paper when using a public restroom, no one should be expected to bring their own pad or tampon.

References

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Women’s Voices for the Earth. Menstrual Equity Bills Passed in the United States. Available from: https://womensvoices.org/menstrual-equity-bills-passed-in-the-united-states/
Jimenez, K. Period products aren’t free or accessible in schools. Students want to make that happen. USA Today; 2022 Nov 28. Available from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/11/28/advocates-fighting-period-poverty-demand-free-pads-tampons-schools/10729315002/
Forschen, E. Latest ‘menstrual equity’ bill would require California’s public colleges to provide period products. Cal Matters; 2021 July 13 [updated 2021 October 15]. Available from: https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/college-beat-higher-education/2021/07/menstrual-equity-california-colleges-period-poverty/
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