Instead of having to buy or ask for period products, Carleton University students can now get tampons and pads for free from washrooms across campus with the wave of a hand.
New period product dispensers were installed in Residence Commons gendered womens’ washrooms in January, fulfilling one of Mira Gillis’ campaign promises as Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) vice-president (administration).
About half of university students have periods, and menstruation’s timing and impact can be irregular from month to month. When period products are not readily available and free, Gillis said students who menstruate might miss classes and face a hefty monthly price tag.
“University is very costly. You’re paying for your academics and making sure that you’re having a good education,” Gillis said. “One thing that I don’t think you should have to worry about is your period.”
One in every ten college students who menstruate experience “period poverty” and are not able to afford menstrual products they need each month, according to an American study published last year in BioMed Central (BMC) Women’s Health.
Julia Mandeville studies the inequitable cost of menstruation—or “period poverty”—as a PhD student in public health at George Mason University. She said students who menstruate but cannot afford period products face added barriers to education.
“The chances of missing school are likely very high for those persons because of fear of embarrassment and the stigma associated with periods and menstruation,” Mandeville said.
A quarter of the students unable to pay for their menstrual products were forced to go without pads or tampons, according to the study in BMC. More than half of students facing “period poverty” were forced to use other materials, like cloth or toilet paper, in lieu of period products such as pads or tampons.
These barriers also disproportionately affect racialized people who menstruate. A quarter of Latinx people and a fifth of Black people who menstruate had experienced “period poverty” in the past year, the study shows.
“It really is a very stressful situation that we could readily eliminate if we make these products readily accessible to all,” Mandeville said.
Gillis also said students who menstruate do not need added stress when balancing school, work and living away from their parents.
“You could be running out of products and you don’t realize until the day before a deadline. Then all of a sudden you think, ‘Oh I have to run to the store, but I also have to work on this paper’,” Gillis said.
Mandeville, whose research is intended to influence public health policy, added that menstrual poverty solutions need to be “context specific.”
“I don’t think a federal-level policy might be able to speak to all of the nuances of what can be happening in a small town or small city,” Mandeville said.
While she noted large-scale solutions could be effective, Mandeville said local policies could address the specific needs of each community.
Ottawa-based period equity advocates agree. Meghan White is the executive director of Period Packs, a non-profit that distributes donated menstruation products to partner organizations across Ottawa.
White said many Ottawans are unable to afford menstrual products. She added Period Packs still sees high demand despite distributing tens of thousands of products each month.
According to White, making period products accessible works best through organizations those in need already turn to.
“Asking [people] to spend money on public transportation or on gas or take time out of their day— they could be working multiple part-time jobs or have dependents at home— to access basic services is just not appropriate,” White said. “It has to come through other agencies.”
Having period products in public bathrooms also creates spaces for people while they are menstruating, according to Veronica Bairos. She is the founder of the Ontario chapter of Moon Time Sisters, a non-profit organization that works against period poverty in Indigenous communities.
When she first became an executive, Gillis said while she initially only wanted free period products in the RRRA office, Gillis said she advocated for Carleton Housing and Life Services to fund and stock dispensers in Residence Commons.
“It was one small step to hopefully a slew of advocacy and making sure that the issue gets solved at Carleton,” Gillis said.
Now a student representative on the Carleton University Board of Governors (BoG), Gillis said she hopes to advocate for more period product accessibility across campus.
According to Bairos, small initiatives that make products accessible everywhere people menstruate are the best solution to solving period poverty. Bairos added an important next step would be to include the dispensers in all washrooms on campus, not only gendered female washrooms.
“Putting those in every bathroom, the male and the female, is really important,” Bairos said. “Make sure that menstrual products are accessible to everyone everywhere. Period.”
Featured image by Isaac Phan Nay.
