WORLD MENSTRUAL HYGIENE DAY 2023
Today is World Menstrual Hygiene Day, which affirms the fundamental human right of all people who menstruate to have access to free, safe and sanitary period products.
Take a look at the state of period poverty in Australia...
According to research by Plan International released in April 2023:
- Half of Australians who menstruate find it difficult to buy period products.
- People in their 20s are most affected by period poverty.
- More than 1/3 of people who menstruate found that lack of access to period products massively impacted their health & wellbeing.
- Period poverty also includes an inability to afford menstrual pain management medication or treatment.
- The cost of living crisis has significantly exacerbated period poverty in Australia – particularly amongst the Gen Z population.
- Almost 6 in 10 Gen Z and Millennial women are finding it more difficult to pay for menstrual health products than they were before the current cost of living crisis. The figure for Gen Z alone is 64%.
According to Share the Dignity:
- More than 1/5 of people who menstruate in Australia are forced to use toilet paper, socks or other improvised period products.
Last year after pressure from the Greens and Young Australian of the Year Isobel Marshall, the NSW Government trialled a pilot program with free tampons and pads in 31 public schools - a small step in the right direction. Period products are a necessity, not a luxury. We must make them free and accessible in every single school and public toilet in NSW.