Understanding menstrual hygiene management is a human right. Help us with the research

HREYN member Chiara De Marchis Garofalo together with her colleague Francesca Milano is implementing a project to deconstruct gender inequalities even further and damask some unfair statistics.

"People with periods experience more health, social and economic discomfort than people without. The lack of proper education and social discussion leads to a strong menstrual stigmatisation," says Chiara.

"In some cultures, the taboo is so strong that when you have period, you are sent away from your community until the period ends. This may compromise educational advancement and enhance gender inequality. Where the information on menstrual hygiene management is significantly poor, people may opt for solutions that can severely led their health."

Myriad of entities are now involved in personal hygiene industry, and price for sanitary items can be quite a big toll and yet another factor for inequality. "Most of the European countries levy the same VAT taxes on sanitary towels and tampons as on beer and wine. Because of this, menstrual items could be not easily purchased by every person that needs them."

"Most of the items used for an healthy menstrual hygiene management are not environmentally sustainable. Lack of debate on the topic prevents companies to be transparent about the material they use and prevents people with period to use more environmental friendly options to manage their menstruation."

Chiara and Francesca are currently implementing a research amid creating their infographic for Menstrual Hygiene Day about menstrual management habits. "We are aiming at collecting heterogeneous data on menstrual habits to further create awareness and fighting period taboo."

Please help Chiara and Francesca by participating in the survey. Link to survey.

“Understanding menstrual hygiene management is a human right”