FROM PAIN TO POWER
FROM PAIN TO POWER
Period Poverty
Period poverty describes the struggle many low-income women and girls face while trying to afford menstrual products. These include menstrual products, pain medication and underwear.
Menstrual poverty will increase in the next decades as low income countries have high birth rates.
The stigma surrounding menstruation prevents the optimal allocation of resources to address the problem.
Globally at least 500 million women experience period poverty
Menstrual products are not accessible in many rural areas and taxed up to 25%
Chronic infections from using unsafe period products (cloth, rug …)
Highly correlated with dropouts as girls miss school when they are on their periods
Prostitution in exchange of pads is a common practice and increases teen pregnancies
Menstruation is “a” highly stigmatized taboo which damages mental and physical health
Plastic Periods: 5th most common plastic waste in Oceans
Menstrual pads are made of 90% plastic, a pack is equivalent to 4 plastic bags and takes hundreds of years to degrade. Currently there are around 3.82 Billion women on earth and every day 800 million are menstruating; The environmental impact is massive!
Menstrual Capitalism
Menstrual capitalism is defined as “the marketing and selling of menstrual hygiene products by means of feminist messages that attempt to create a public-relations ‘halo effect’ for companies that are, at their core, commercial enterprises” Bridget Crawford.
Toxic Periods
Most single use tampons and sanitary pads use the following chemicals which are linked to cancer, endocrine disruption and reproductive toxicity:
Conventional pads commonly use SAPs ( super absorbent polymers). SAPS contain sodium polyacrylate, a synthetic material that is not biodegradable and manufactured from acrylic acid, which is associated with numerous adverse health endpoints.
