Period Poverty
The limited or inadequate access to menstrual products or menstrual health education as a result of financial constraints or negative socio-cultural stigmas associated with menstruation.
State of the Period 2021
The Widespread impact of period poverty on US Students. Commissioned by Thinx & PERIOD. (May 2021)
Nearly 1 in 4 students have struggled to afford period products in the United States
Lower-income students and students of color (particularly Latinx students) are more impacted by lack of access than white and middle-income students
76% of students are taught more about the biology of frogs than the human female body in school.
51% of students have worn period products for longer than recommended.
Impact on Mental Health
BMC Women's Health (2021)
Many young women cannot afford menstrual health products to meet their monthly needs, and this may impact their mental well-being. Improved access to affordable menstrual products is needed to support these young women.
Among the results, 14.2% of women had experienced period poverty ever in the past-year; an additional 10% experienced it every month.
Compared to those who had never experienced period poverty, adjusted analysis revealed that women with monthly past-year period poverty were the most likely to report moderate/severe depression, followed by those who had experienced it ever in the past year.
Impact on Low-Income Women
College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, and the Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. (Feb. 2019)
Menstrual hygiene supplies are a basic necessity that many low-income women lack.
Nearly two thirds (64%) of women were unable to afford needed menstrual hygiene supplies during the previous year. Approximately one fifth of women (21%) experienced this monthly.
Additional Research Studies
Using Models of Menstrual Experience to Increase Impact
Irise International
Japanese Teens Think Boys Should Also Know About Periods
Nippon Foundation1 in 10 college women face period poverty, a study shows. Here’s what that means
The Lilly & The Washington PostThe effects of COVID-19 have made it more difficult for lower income and minority women to afford period products when compared to 2018
U by KotexU.S. women’s experiences of menstrual product insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic
BMC Women's HealthGlobal Hygiene and Health Survey 2022
EssityThe situation for US women post Roe v. Wade
FloWhat is period poverty?
Take Action
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