Advocates and state lawmakers in New Jersey say prioritizing menstrual health equity could help reduce stigma around periods and even address the state’s staggering maternal mortality rate for people of color.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia defines the poverty of the period as “inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and education” – including sanitary products (such as tampons and pads), washing equipment and waste management.
“Growing up, periods have always been a very stigmatized issue. That’s honestly one of the biggest barriers to accessing these products,” said Anjali Darji, a Lumberton High School senior. “Periods are a natural thing; they are supposed to happen.”
One in five teens with periods struggle to pay for period products, according to a national survey commissioned by Thinx, a company that makes period products. The same report found that 84% of American students know someone who has missed class because of it.
Darji said the rising cost of products has made things worse for many of her peers, and on top of that, the period product vending machines in her school’s bathrooms are usually defective.
It’s one of the reasons she volunteers at the Alice Paul Institute, a South Jersey nonprofit that advocates for gender equality through education and leadership development.
The institute is in the process of creating period pantries in local libraries, Darji said. Period Flats is a free resource where people can access menstrual hygiene products.
“We gathered a group of girls from our community and we’re going to build a pantry from scratch. We are collecting funds for this ourselves”, said Darji.
Period poverty in black and Hispanic communities
While period poverty affects people of all racial backgrounds, a quarter of Black and Hispanic people with periods strongly agreed that they struggled to afford period products between May 2020 and May 2021, according to a study conducted by period product manufacturer Kotex.
New Jersey lawmakers are also addressing menstrual health equity with a package of legislation passed in the General Assembly last week.
The legislation includes bills that urge Congress to allow SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid to cover period products, create related services for homeless residents, and create a state-run Menstrual hygiene products program.
