Women in Prison +
Homeless Women
0
Women on the streets
0
Incarcerated women
0
Tampons used per lifetime
P e r i o d s .
A period is when a woman’s body releases tissue it no longer needs. This tissue comes from the uterus, which is where a baby (fetus) can develop in the female body. Every month or so, the uterus lining gets thicker to prepare for a fertilized egg if the woman becomes pregnant. If the egg doesn’t get fertilized, that lining is released from the body as blood through the vagina. This monthly process is called menstruation or a period.
Types of Feminine Hygiene Products
What are the options?
Tampons
$7.62
Tampons are little plugs of cotton that fit inside your vagina and absorb menstrual blood. Tampons can’t get lost inside your vagina or move to another part of your body. They stay inside until you remove them. Most people can’t feel tampons if they’re placed in the vagina correctly.
Pads
$5.84
Unlike tampons or cups, pads are worn outside of your body. Pads stay in place with a strip of adhesive that sticks to the inside of your underwear. Some have “wings” or flaps that fold over the sides of your underwear to protect against leaks and stains. Like tampons, pads have different sizes. Pads can be very thin (for light flows) or cushy (for heavier flows).
Thinx
$34.00
Thinx is period underwear made up of four ultra-thin micro-layers that all work together to do their thang. We developed the technology over three years before launching the product to ensure each and every pair is completely antimicrobial, moisture-wicking, leak-resistant, and absorbent.
Menstrual Cup
$29.99
Menstrual cups are shaped like little bells or bowls, and they’re made of rubber, silicone, or soft plastic. They’re held inside your body by the walls of your vagina, where they collect menstrual fluid. Most menstrual cups are reusable, which means that you use the same cup over and over again.
Real Women.
Kaliah, Homeless
"Not only is it terrible, but it's also embarassing. Not to mention that now you have this stain on your pants. I only have the clothes that I'm wearing, so I'm standing there half naked, bloodied, you know, washing my clothes out."
Maria, Incarcerated
"You were given an allowance of mestrual pads and they kept track of how often you asked. We weren't allowed to to use tampons, which is terrible. As someone who doesn't use pads on the outside, I was forced to stew in my own fluids."
Leah, Incarcerated
On getting mestrual products, "an experience that either intentionally works to degrade inmates, or degrades us as a result of cost-saving measures; either way, the results are the same. Prison makes us hate part of ourselves; it turns us against our own bodies."
Zoe, Homeless
"When I was on the streets, I actually found it easier to get food or toothbrushes that stuff for my period. The was nowhere to find that stuff and I was obviously too embarassed to ask strangers for it. The idea of experiencing those hot, disabling cramps while wandering the streets because you're scared of staying in one place makes me wince."
Ways to Destigmatize Period Talk
Progress
Destigmatizing Period Talk
"It's about dignity and women uderstanding that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this process. One we take the taboo away from this product, then we are really empowering women." - Ferreras-Copeland
The IF Project
We are a collaboration of law enforcement, currently and previously incarcerated adults and community partners focused on intervention, prevention and reduction in incarceration and recidivism. Our work is built upon–and inspired by–people sharing their personal experiences surrounding the issues of incarceration.
New York City Package Legislation
In a 49-0 vote, the council approved a measure that would make New York City the first in the United States to give all women in public schools, prisons and homeless shelters access to feminine hygiene products — free of charge.
Camions of Care
We manage and celebrate menstrual hygiene through advocacy, education, and service-- through the global distribution of feminine hygiene product care packages to women in need, and the engagement of youth leadership with our nationwide network of campus chapters.
#TheHomelessPeriod
For homeless women, it really is that dreaded time of the month. With limited or no access to sanitary products, they're often forced to go without. This initiative believes that tampons and towels should be made available through homeless shelters, the same way the government provides condoms. To show your support, share the site, sign the petition, or donate a tampon.
A Woman's Worth Inc.
Menstruation is a biological female attribute that women should be proud of, not shamed by. Women all over the world are silent about the indignity and shame they feel everyday and more voices are needed on their behalf. Aww Inc. aims to add to the voices promoting WASH efforts by providing and encouraging a female perspective. With puberty and menstruation hygiene management (MHM) as the entry point to affecting change, we are able to address inequalities across the board.