Combat Period Poverty

It's a Girl Thing Movement supports women in poverty

Period poverty is defined as the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products and basic sanitation, as well as the lack of education of menstruation. Period poverty is a global issue that affects women all over the world. Wherever there is poverty, there is period poverty.

This issue affects women in three main ways:

  1. Health👩‍⚕️

    2. Improper menstrual hygiene can lead to health conditions such as toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and reproductive infections. Such infections can lead to more serious health conditions like cervical cancer.

  2. Education👩‍🎓

    3. Young girls who don't have access to menstrual hygiene products miss school when they are on their period. If a girl misses school every time she is on her period, she misses about 10-20% of school days each year. This puts many young girls behind the boys in their classes. Often, in developing countries, girls drop out of school entirely once she reaches puberty.

  3. Self-Esteem👸

    4. In many places around the world, menstruation is still a taboo topic. It's an embarrassing topic for a lot of women. It is even more embarrassing when you do not have access to proper menstrual hygiene products to deal with your period. Thus, period poverty leads to lower confidence levels.

It's a Girl Thing Movement has the main goal of empowering women and menstruating people through alleviating period poverty. As long as period poverty exists, there can be no gender equality. As long as a person's opportunities are limited because of their period, they cannot be seen as equal to their non-menstruating counterpart. It's a Girl Thing Movement collects menstrual hygiene products and distributes them to women's shelters, food banks, and other organizations to support women and menstruating people who experience period poverty.

Learn more about It's a Girl Thing Movement at itsagirlthingmovement.com