Providing menstrual products in schools ‘critical step’ to address period poverty

Key takeaways:

• The average age of menarche in the U.S. is 11.9 years.
• Providing period products in all U.S. schools can improve attendance and destigmatize menstruation.

In the U.S., the average age of menarche is continuing to decrease, highlighting the importance of providing menstrual products for women and girls in all school bathrooms and public buildings to alleviate period poverty.

“Not having period products can lead to health risks. What we find is that when there is a lack of access to period products, sometimes people use proxy items like toilet paper, rags or socks,” Lacey Gero, director of government relations at the National Diaper Bank Network at the Alliance for Period Supplies, told Healio. “People are risking their health in order to be able to go to school or go to work. They don’t want to miss out because they have their period.”

Healio spoke with Gero about period inequity in the U.S., with a specific focus on the provision of menstrual products for women and girls in schools.

Healio: What is the average age of menarche for girls in the U.S.?

Gero: In 2020, the CDC reported the average age of menarche in the U.S. was 11.9 years of age. I want to note the studies have shown that in the U.S., the age has been going down over the last 55 years. That is notable in our work because, as we’re talking about putting period products in schools, it is important to know the average age of menarche and which schools we are actually talking about. Is it just middle and high school? We have come to realize that elementary schools are a place where period products should be easily accessible.

Healio: Do you believe women and girls in the U.S. are properly informed and educated about menstruation? Do they have fair access to menstrual products?

Gero: Menstrual education requirements vary by state and are not uniform across the country. Our organization focuses more on the issue of period poverty; however, what I can say is students in the U.S. are facing challenges when it comes to menstrual education and menstrual product access. Studies show that many adolescent girls, especially those from poor socioeconomic backgrounds, lack adequate menstruation education and struggle to afford basic necessities like period products. PERIOD and Thinx Inc. conducted a national study, called the State of the Period study. The most recent data from 2023 found one in four students have struggled to purchase period products. We know that this is impacting students.

Period products are very expensive, especially for young girls. For some girls, purchasing period products can be an added expense they may have to cover on their own.

Also, to note, in 20 states, period products are still taxed. They are not treated as a basic necessity, but instead are treated as a luxury good and taxed at the same rate as a handbag or toys. That makes period products even more expensive.

We also do not have period products readily available everywhere. You don’t go to every library and see period products. You don’t go to public buildings and always see period products. That is why we do the work that we do to try to increase access, so when you go to places like a government building, school or a shelter, those products are available. Right now, that access is just not widely there.

Healio: Would providing menstrual products in all school bathrooms help to lessen period inequity? Why is that so?

Gero: Providing period products in school bathrooms is a critical step to providing equal access to education and to helping address period poverty. We know that without period products, students are missing school or they are missing class time. The Alliance for Period Supplies works to advocate with our allied members — organizations that are on the ground distributing period supplies — to try to increase funding for schools to have access to period products. This looks a little bit different across the country. Currently, 28 states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation to increase access to period products; some states have mandates. Some states have mandates with funding and some provide grant funding. But what we have seen is in areas where there is access to period products in schools, like in New York City, data show there was a 2.4% increase in attendance. North Carolina provides a grant program, and after implementing the grant program, schools reported students had higher self-esteem and decreased student stress. Additionally, providing the products directly in the bathrooms reduced missed class time and destigmatized menstruation.

Healio: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Gero: It is going to take all of us to end period poverty. For anyone interested in getting involved, our website is aligned to www.allianceforperiodsupplies.org. We would love to have more voices in this movement and more advocates for change.

Reference:

• Period.org. State of the Period 2023. period.org/uploads/2023-State-of-the-Period-Study.pdf. Published Sept. 10, 2023. Accessed Aug. 29, 2024.

For more information:

Lacey Gero can be reached at lacey@diaperbanknetwork.org; X (Twitter): @periodsupplies.