What is Menstrual Equity?
What is menstrual equity?
Menstrual equity aims to guarantee that everyone has the resources and support necessary to manage their menstruation with dignity. It refers to the affordability, accessibility, and safety of menstrual products, as well as the education and reproductive care associated with menstruation. It addresses the issue of period poverty, where individuals struggle to afford necessary menstrual hygiene products, which are considered necessities, not luxuries. Menstrual equity is also recognized as a human rights and public health issue, highlighting the disparities faced by marginalized communities.
What is period insecurity?
Simply put, period insecurity is defined as having a lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints or negative stigmas associated with menstruation. While people may regard period products as essential items, they may forget that these products are a significant, additional expense each month for menstruators.
How much do period supplies cost each month?
On average, period supplies and medication cost approximately $25+ per month, and prices have increased significantly due to inflation. In Georgia, all of these products are taxed and not considered essential items, so vote when and where you can to help remove the “pink or period tax” on these essential menstrual supplies!
How does this issue impact our Lowcountry community?
The impact of not having period supplies when needed is significant. According to a study conducted by U by Kotex and the Alliance for Period Supplies:
one in four people struggled to purchase period supplies within the last year due to a lack of income.
Two in five low-income women reported missing work, school or similar everyday life events due to the lack of financial resources and access to period supplies.
These instances were linked to reported feelings of embarrassment, disappointment, and depression.
Period insecurity has a direct link with self-perception and mental health. *Excerpt from Forbes.com
Furthermore, the Georgia STOMP Coalition shares that “providing menstrual products in schools is essential to ensuring a student’s education isn’t negatively impacted because of a lack of supplies. The impacts of these products reach far beyond a single classroom or school campus, and research shows:
that a girl’s preparedness for puberty affects her sexual and reproductive outcomes, as well as her sense of self.
A survey of Georgia school nurses, prepared by Georgia STOMP and delivered with the assistance of the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Association of School Nurses, documents that when products aren’t supplied by school systems, nurses and other school staff bear these costs personally.”
You may learn much more about the impact of period insecurity in the State of Georgia HERE.
What is the “period tax” or “pink tax”?
Under current Georgia law, menstrual products are taxed at the full 4% plus local county taxes. This tax is assessed primarily on women, who are already financially disadvantaged in our state. 1 in 5 Georgia women live in poverty (20% vs 12% of Georgia men) and 2/3 of minimum wage jobs are held by women. Females in Georgia earn 81% of what men earn for the same positions. Along with several other states (over 30!) in the United States, we believe menstrual products should be exempt from state taxes like groceries, prescriptions, personal medical devices, hearing aids and prosthetics. This tax is discriminatory and should be eliminated.
Safety-net programs such as WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) and Food Stamps awarded through SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) do not cover the cost for diapers or period products.
How can we help support the fight against period insecurity?
There isn’t a single solution to solving period product lack, but organizations like OTM, advocacy groups like Georgia STOMP, and individuals can come together to help tackle the issue in several ways. Engaging kids in education, becoming familiar with these hygiene items, and everyday conversations that normalize menstruation is key to ending taboos around this natural process. OTM collects and distributes menstrual products throughout coastal Georgia to help meet the need of our neighbors (with loads of help!) and regularly visits with local and national lawmakers to discuss solutions to these everyday, natural situations. With help, we make and distribute OTM Moon Packs and Caddies to schools, businesses, and organizations to help alleviate this monthly, menstrual need as best we can as often as we can.
We are proud members of Georgia STOMP, a statewide coalition of advocacy, service, and professional organizations addressing the issues of menstrual equity and period poverty in Georgia. We are also members of the Alliance for Period Supplies, a national organization comprised of Menstrual Equity Supply Programs that collect, warehouse, and distribute menstrual/period products in their local communities.
We encourage you to learn more about menstrual equity and how you may help.
