Document Type

Social Sciences

Date

2024

Submission Date

May 2024

Abstract

Many women around the world lack access to menstrual hygiene products and hygienic, private sanitation facilities: an issue commonly known as “period poverty”. Women who experience this phenomenon often resort to unhealthy alternatives, putting them at higher risk for infections. Period poverty also causes many women to miss significant amounts of school and/or work, resulting in school drop-outs and adverse career outcomes. Menstrual inequities have recently come under greater study in low- to middle-income countries, but evidence suggests that women in the United States are adversely affected by period poverty as well. With this in mind, I set out to assess the currently-available solutions to period poverty, propose modifications to these existing solutions, and offer new solutions. I notably propose the elimination of taxes applied to menstruation products, pressure to be placed on the private sector to fund women’s health research, and prioritization of menstrual education.

Rights

© The Author(s)

Is Part Of

Auctus

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25886/bn3c-p645

Included in

Public Health Commons

Share

COinS