Out of billions of people who menstruate every month worldwide, a considerable portion is helplessly subjected to a phenomenon better known as period poverty. If you’re unfamiliar with this term, don’t worry. Nonprofit organizations like Help A Girl Out have got you covered. To put it simply, period poverty refers to the struggle of a menstruating individual to have proper, uninterrupted access to menstrual essentials, such as sanitary products, menstrual health education, safe waste management, and hygienic facilities for dignified period management.
Those struck by period poverty often have limited financial resources, having no choice but to make sacrifices in every other aspect of their lives. This reality affects nearly 35% of Canada’s menstruating population, causing many to miss out on school, work, and social activities. While many assume menstruation-related issues to be only concerned with ‘hygiene’, the systemic disparity runs deeper. With a global sum of 500 million individuals affected by period poverty, WHO has been actively advocating for menstrual health to be recognized, framed, and addressed as a health and human rights issue.
What Is Period Poverty?
Period poverty refers to the inability of an individual to afford menstrual products for themselves or gain access to proper, evidence-backed education and safe sanitation facilities. Menstruation is a natural biological process, not a choice. Subsequently, safe menstrual management was never meant to be a luxury. It’s a necessity. And yet, a considerable portion of the world’s population continues to struggle with period poverty. While it’s common to assume that period poverty only affects those in developing countries, studies have shown that it is a pressing public health issue that goes beyond a region’s economic stability.
In an ideal world, no one would be battling hunger, shelter, safety, or hygiene. But what most of us experience reflects an unfavorable reality. Menstruating individuals who struggle to choose between food and menstrual products end up resorting to unsafe menstrual hygiene alternatives, which more often than not include the use of coconut husks, newspapers, cotton balls, torn mattress stuffing, toilet paper, or simply stretching the use of a single pad for too long. These practices result in an increased likelihood of contracting urinary tract infections (UTIs) and bacterial vaginosis, along with persistent vaginal itching. As you may have observed by now, period poverty is not an isolated issue, but something which has a direct, negative impact on the lives of menstruating individuals.
The first step to address these problems is to acknowledge the damage a simple lack of open discourse (communication) can do; especially considering the looming sense of embarrassment associated with periods in the community. To exemplify this, let’s have a look at the common practice of school-going individuals struck by period poverty. Even high-achieving studentstend to willingly skip school to avoid the embarrassment of a period stain being seen on their clothes or the chair they sat on. When they are unable to speak up about something as natural as a period stain, they lack the confidence required to address the need for proper sanitation facilities.
A 2023 study suggests that menstrual health needs may remain unmet when there’s an absence of proper living situations, open communication, and finances. In this, open communication plays a key role in turning things around, eradicating period poverty, deconstructing taboos, or bringing unavoidable issues to the policymakers’ attention.
What Causes Period Poverty?
It’s one thing to know what issue is prevalent among menstruating individuals; it’s another to find what causes the problem in the first place. Period poverty doesn’t just mean that menstrual goods are inaccessible for those experiencing menstruation. It also means that restroom spaces fail to foster an environment deemed fit for safely changing between menstrual disposables. This proposition is potentially backed by a factsheet released by WHO, stating that over 1.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, which also includes private toilets. Limited access to safely exercise menstrual hygiene may also extend to public cubicles lacking proper, functional, and reliable locks or restrooms void of dispensers for menstrual hygiene essentials.
The federal government of Canada has taken the initiative of abolishing the pink tax (for feminine hygiene products) for more than a decade now, and that’s been a source of immense support in eradicating period poverty within the country. However, it’s important to understand that eliminating the tax alone wouldn’t help much when necessities like menstrual products are already expensive. According to data available on the Parliament of Canada website, menstruating individuals in Canada are estimated to spend nearly $6000 on menstrual necessities in their lifetime, making the average cost per year at least $150. This is especially alarming considering the rising costs of living in Canada, making accessibility to menstrual hygiene a challenge for financially struggling individuals.
Even though 1 in 6 Canadians who menstruate have personally reported experiencing period poverty in their lifetime, the burden is even greater among lower-income households. According to a 2023 news report, 1 out of 4 menstruating individuals in Canada are susceptible to period poverty if their yearly household earnings are less than $40,000. Besides the cost of menstrual products and whether or not such essentials fall within the affordability range of Canadians, there’s also the less-highlighted issue of product availability.
The availability of menstrual products in larger cities is comparatively higher than in rural or indigenous communities. One way or the other, menstruating individuals living in rural areas end up paying significantly more for the same quantity and quality of menstrual hygiene essentials (primarily due to lower availability). For example, a period product that’s roughly priced around $3-$11 in Vancouver costs somewhere between $15-$18 in Nunavut. From a logical perspective, the pricing should have either been subsidized or maintained the same for those lacking accessibility. Such issues may come to light when enough people become outspoken in advocacy for better rights. But advocating for a cause to make menstrual hygiene accessible for all isn’t easy. It demands destigmatization of pre-existing associations of menstrual blood (and related aspects) with shame, embarrassment, and ‘disgust’.
Considering how the Canadian community is ultra-diverse, menstruating individuals from a variety of cultures hold different beliefs concerning periods. This can also mean that individuals feel hesitant to speak openly about their menstrual health concerns and constantly feel marginalized by their community’s perception of period blood as ‘impure’ or ‘unclean’. Supported by a lack of relevant and evidence-backed education, such stigma has only contributed to silencing voices that need to be at the forefront to grab policymakers’ attention. To counter this, menstruating individuals need to understand that menstruation is a natural biological process, and there’s nothing ‘shameful’ about experiencing or managing it. There’s no better way to achieve this outcome than to improve menstrual health literacy within the community on a collective scale.
Who Is Most Affected by Period Poverty?
The impact of period poverty is particularly severe for those who experience it firsthand. Whether it’s inaccessibility to menstrual products, safe sanitation facilities, or proper education, societal norms and ill-advised policies have always made the duration of menstruation more challenging for those struck by period poverty. Periods aren’t something individuals can willingly stop or control. For those with regular cycles, menstrual blood shows up on a monthly basis, forcing individuals to manage it despite financial distress. The makeshift alternatives, such as using cotton balls, paper towels, unwashed rags, or prolonged wear of disposables, affect and compromise menstrual health. With health issues showing up in the form of toxic shock syndrome, urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis, vaginal itching, or green discharge, it’s clear that resorting to unsafe menstrual hygiene practices has done more damage than good.
These challenges have been recorded to affect the lives of menstruating individuals at the peak of their growth years. For students and working individuals alike, there’s a persistent unwillingness to be confident about experiencing periods, driving 1 out of 10 menstruating individuals to request unexplained emergency leaves from work or school. Underlying reasons can be as simple as a lack of the right absorbent material, right place, and right education; the presence of which is characterized as essential by the United Nations Population Fund. This inaccessibility has contributed to systemic barriers, preventing individuals from achieving their true potential. As a result, the time defined by their expected success in school or work gets overshadowed by material, accommodation, and infrastructural limits posed by period poverty.
Beyond students and working adults, several underserved communities face a disproportionate risk of period poverty. In this category, one-parent families, transgender people, non-binary people, indigenous people, racialized groups, refugees, and recent immigrants are also recorded to face the highest poverty rates within the country, which is further exacerbated by period poverty. Notably, safe menstrual management for transgender people experiencing periods can be particularly challenging as they may face difficulty accessing menstrual essentials in spaces such as public restrooms, shelters, schools, or workplaces. Lastly, period poverty also affects those experiencing housing instability or limited mobility. This includes menstruating individuals either residing in domestic violence shelters, living with disabilities, or experiencing homelessness.
How Does Period Poverty Affect Daily Life?
Maintaining basic hygiene isn’t a luxury for individuals, and yet, it is priced like one. According to a 2024 report, the cost of personal hygiene products (including menstrual essentials) has increased by 6.2% of their original price range. The report also found that 82% of menstruating individuals believed period products cost more than what they could afford. Considering the severity of economic inequality among the masses, the rising prices are not helping counter period poverty. Quite the opposite, such measures are only sidelining the fundamental needs of menstruating individuals limited in resources, education, and accessibility.
Contrary to what people usually assume, the impact of period poverty doesn’t just concern menstruating individuals’ personal lives. Its impact also reflects on their academic performance, physical health challenges, deteriorating mental and emotional well-being, as well as inconsistent workplace participation. To better understand the struggles faced by those affected by period poverty, pay attention to how different their ways of life are. Any menstruating individual who has the means to afford menstrual products (or limitless access to ideal conditions required to change between disposables) wouldn’t worry about choosing between groceries, rent, or tampons. But the same isn’t true for underserved communities, those living in rural areas or experiencing financial hardships within Canada.
Considering how groceries and rent are unavoidable needs, individuals have no choice but to stretch out the use of disposables in their drawers. Once they run out of those options, unsafe, suboptimal period management practices begin to appear more appealing. The unavoidability of this situation on the affected end adversely impacts their physical health. Another factor that further worsens their health is a lack of awareness concerning risks, safe practices, and the right time to consult an expert. Due to this, abnormal period conditions (such as dysmenorrhea, menorrhagia, or inconsistent cycles) requiring a healthcare practitioner’s attention go unchecked, with up to 500 million menstruating individuals worldwide remaining deprived of achieving good menstrual health.
Limited awareness only creates room for headaches, cramps, and discomfort that may be avoided with the help of timely treatment. With the condition(s) persisting, period poverty causes serious disturbances that affect how one thinks and feels. As a result, affected individuals may develop stress and social isolation as they prefer avoiding participation in social gatherings during their menstrual week. Not only does it have detrimental effects on one’s overall well-being, but it also binds menstruating individuals to their comfort space, which renders them unable to report to their respective workplaces.
Common Misconceptions About Period Poverty
The only antidote to misconception is education. But before coming up with ways to eradicate period poverty, it’s important to understand the nature of misconceptions we’re dealing with. Stemming from the idea that period poverty solely affects those with economic instability, the most prevalent misconception is that period poverty only happens in developing countries. This misconception has also led uninformed individuals to become increasingly curious about the motive of various nonprofit initiatives in Canada to counter period poverty, including Help A Girl Out; believing how a first world country could even remotely be dealing with inaccessibility to safely practice menstrual hygiene.
As a matter of fact, social stigma persists even in first world countries, with an international study indicating 51% of women feeling ashamed to have periods whereas 58% of men found it ‘improper’ to discuss periods in professional settings. In Canada alone, 25% of women have reported to forego buying menstrual products because they had to prioritize other necessities of life; which is yet another impact of period poverty. Another common misconception is that menstrual products are easily accessible everywhere. The more mainstream an area is, the more likely it is to be abundant in providing menstrual essentials to individuals in need of them. For individuals residing in secluded or rural areas, the availability of menstrual products is significantly low. Aside from this, individuals are also subjected to buying menstrual products priced 4x to 5x higher than those available in large urban cities; with the disparity running differently for indigenous individuals living in non-remote communities (55%) and remote communities (73%).
Following this misconception, there’s also the ‘period poverty is only about income’ concept that disrupts the agenda of eradicating period poverty. Even though money holds central position in making menstrual goods accessible for individuals, other factors also come into play. Homelessness and geographic isolation issues persist despite the Canadian government’s efforts to abolish the pink tax on feminine hygiene products. These examples demonstrate that the issue of period poverty is prevalent in society; and despite efforts taken to counter it, there is a long way to go until the problem gets fully ‘solved’.
How Communities Can Help Reduce Period Poverty
Highlighting policy gaps and bringing matters to the government’s attention can help only to some extent. In the longer run, they may introduce additional policies or revise pre-existing ones to better support every individual’s right to safely practice menstrual hygiene. But for now, what matters most is the community’s ‘effort’. The truth is, no change can come about without people coming together to shed light onto prevalent issues in society. So when it comes to period poverty, clearing up common misconceptions associated with menstrual health can be a great place to start. You don’t need massive funds to bring Canadian society one step closer to eradicating period poverty.
Simply put, you may begin with spreading evidence-backed information among affected members of the community. Form a group with your friends, take inspiration from the efforts of nonprofit organizations like Help A Girl Out, observe how [we] are getting work done, assign one person from your team with the best visual skills to make compelling infographics, and then visit underserved communities. Expanding menstrual health education may seem like a small-scale effort at first, but with time, its long-term impact becomes increasingly evident, especially by creating a safe and supportive environment for those previously battling the constraints of period poverty.
Though if you’re unable to put a team together, don’t fret; you can always be a part of one instead. Make the best of your situation and join the teams of local organizations already working to eradicate period poverty in Canada and other regions alike. Considering how managing menstruation is a human rights issue, your drive to help others out shouldn’t be defined by geographical limits. So, donate as much as your finances allow you to and make a lasting difference in communities affected by period poverty, not just within Canada but extend your impact beyond its borders.
Take the impact of Help A Girl Out, for example. In this, our team of 100+ volunteers (in partnership with 80+ organizations) have succeeded in distributing two million period products and 15,000+ supply kits (capable of lasting three months) across 350 cities in Canada. If you think our impact has stopped at this point, think again. Between 2021 and 2026, we have also conducted 300+ workshops (for addressing uterine and menstrual health issues) as a part of our education program in schools, community organizations, and corporate spaces. While our work continues to make waves within Canada, we also conduct quarterly outreach initiatives through Period Product Support Program (PPSP), providing support to efforts targeting period poverty in Africa and Caribbean.
Get More Information on Period Poverty & How We Can Solve It!
Discussing periods before the onset of menarche (first period) was once considered taboo. Fortunately growing awareness has helped challenge long-standing taboos surrounding menstruation. The journey of curiosity that started with learning what period poverty was, continues with the aim to eradicate this problem for menstruating individuals.
At Help A Girl Out, we believe in the power of evidence-backed education. Our workshops are designed to do more than just normalize open conversations about periods. Here, we also ensure that sustainable, safe menstrual management methods become a regular practice for those affected by period poverty.
Lasting impacts aren’t made in isolation; they thrive within a shared community. Get involved with our team and address period poverty, one workshop at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What exactly is period poverty?
Period poverty is the inability to afford and access menstrual products, sanitation, hygiene facilities, education, and awareness (UN Women).
Q2. How many people does period poverty affect?
Nearly 35% of people who menstruate in Canada are recorded to experience period poverty, whereas a global population of 500 million people are affected by it.
Q3. Where is period poverty most common?
Period poverty is most common in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, refugee camps, and conflict zones. However, it is also known to affect developed countries on the grounds of product affordability, safe sanitation facilities, and informed hygiene education.
Q4. How can we reduce period poverty?
There are many ways to help reduce period poverty. Individuals may act independently to destigmatize menstruation and educate the masses, or they can support organizations with the mission of eradicating period poverty with voice, intellect, and physical resources.
