An Overview of Period Poverty and the Public Health Benefit Impact of Providing Free Feminine Hygiene Products

Abstract

Feminine hygiene products such as tampons, pads, and sanitary tissues are crucial to a menstruating person’s health. Feminine hygiene products are a multi-billion-dollar industry, and over the course of a menstruator’s life, they spend between roughly $3000-$5000 on over 16,000 feminine hygiene products. Many financial barriers exist that prevent menstruators, most of whom self-identify as women, from accessing safe and healthy menstrual hygiene products. A disproportionately high number of women, especially women of color, live in poverty. As a result, purchasing feminine hygiene products often poses a substantial financial burden, sometimes preventing women from being able to buy feminine hygiene products at all or forcing them to choose between purchasing food or feminine hygiene products. This phenomenon is referred to as “period poverty.” Due to a lack of access to appropriate menstrual products, many women report substituting debris items, which lead to severe health complications such as toxic shock syndrome and cervical cancer. In addition to potential health risks, there are often negative social consequences associated with menstruation as many women report having to leave their workplace or school due to experiencing an emergency menstruation event and not finding feminine hygiene products publicly available. A plethora of slang words and negative cultural connotations are frequently associated with menstruation, and many women report feelings of stress and anxiety due to the many facets of menstruation symptom management and resource allocation. New York City made feminine hygiene products free in public schools, prisons, and homeless shelters, providing 323,000 menstruators with free products at a cost of roughly $5.88 per person per year, which is cost-effective. Nations such as Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland have also led initiatives highlighting the cost-effective public health benefit of improving access to menstrual hygiene products.

Breaking the Cycle: Addressing Period Poverty as a Critical Public Health Challenge and Its Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

“…Figure 2 depicts the impacts of period poverty on public health, whereas Figure 3 illustrates the sequential implications for public health. The market for feminine hygiene products generates billions of dollars annually, with menstruators spending approximately $3,000 to $5,000 on over 16,000 products throughout their lifetimes [12]. Financial obstacles often hinder menstruators, primarily self-identified women, from obtaining safe and healthy menstrual hygiene products.…”