1 out of 4
US teens have missed class due to lack of access to period products
84%
of US teens have – or know someone who has – missed class time due to inadequate access to period products
2 out of 3
US teens have felt stress due to lack of access to period products.
64%
of US teens believe society teaches people to be ashamed of their periods.
PERIOD POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES
PE·RI·OD POV·ER·TY: a lack of access to menstrual health products, education, hygiene facilities, waste management, or any combination of these.
PERIOD POVERTY IS A HEALTH DISPARITY, and affects MILLIONS globally, including US women and girls. It’s a health crisis for menstruators.
Early menstruation and increased vulnerability are associated with depression, delinquency, school dropout, and substance abuse. In lower-income areas, girls face substantial challenges to managing menstruation in school, with some girls resorting to transactional sex to purchase sanitary products.
Close to 12 million women across the U.S. aged 12 to 52 years live below the poverty line and most don’t have access to sanitary products. Estimates vary, but in the US 553,000 people experience homelessness on any single night, with 28% being single women.
1 in 4 of U.S. menstruators struggled to afford period products last year.
Impact on Equality of Education Access – Independent studies show indigent girl students miss up to 50 days of school each year because they cannot afford sanitary items.
Recent data finds that 1 in 5 American girls miss school due to their periods.
THE FIGURES BELOW SHOW HOW HOW MUCH THE AVERAGE MENSTRUATOR SPENDS ON THESE PRODUCTS, COMPARED TO IF THEY WOULD SWITCH TO OUR COULDYOU? CUP
EACH CUP IS DISTRIBUTED IN A COTTON POUCH WHICH IS SEWN BY MARGINALISED WOMEN IN AFRICA, IN UGANDA, THEY’RE SEWN BY TRANSITIONING CHILD PROSTITUTES.
An initiative by Couldyou.org
