Access to Menstrual Products is a Fundamental Right in the U.S. and Globally
There is a growing movement in the United States advocating for the affordability, accessibility, and the safety of menstrual products for all women. It also seeks to emphasize the significance of menstruation equity as a necessity and a fundamental right for all Americans. This movement serves to ensure that low-income women, public school students, incarcerated women and shelter residents are provided and have unfettered access to menstrual products and to abolish the tampon tax.
The tampon tax creates an unfair and discriminatory burden on women because it levies additional taxes on menstrual products. This tax is synonymous to a regular sales tax or a value-added tax. According to ACLU, these products are not being exempt because of the states’ failure to recognize them in the category of necessity. The increasing costs of menstrual products are financially burdensome for many women. This has created a lack of access which has caused many girls and women to miss school, work, and resort to less hygienic sanitation methods, which can cause health problems.
Currently, there are 31 states that have a tampon tax in effect. In many of those states, groups are advocating for period equity legislation. Those states who uphold a tampon tax implicate the health and well-being of women, especially those who are most vulnerable.
In an effort to end these inequities on a federal level, Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY), a leader in the menstrual equity movement, introduced the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2019. It is the first comprehensive bill of its kind and would, among its provisions, ensure free menstrual hygiene products are available to students, low-income individuals, homeless individuals, people who are incarcerated, those working for large employers, and in all public federal buildings. Accessibility to menstrual products will encourage a safer and healthier lifestyle for all women.
The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) launched a Positive Period! Campaign (Positive Period Campaign), understanding that reproductive justice and gender justice is inextricable to a Black women’s health. The Positive Period Campaign, which provided 2,000 menstrual cups for women and girls in Kigali, Rwanda, and Atlanta, GA, is the first step to addressing these inequities and providing affordable menstrual products. BWHI has been working hard to build awareness about menstrual product insecurities through the Positive Period Campaign. One of the organization’s goals is to engage in public education to raise awareness and reduce stigma. Actions like these will catalyze a movement for change in which all menstrual health care will not be treated as luxury.