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Always Pads: Addressing The Effect Of These Sanitary Products On Our Health

Periods have a lot of unhelpful associations. Many of these associations are underpinned by patriarchal, capitalist understandings of people who bleed and their bodies. Despite endless campaigns surrounding periods, there continues to be an ongoing stigma surrounding people who openly discuss their periods.

The unfortunate reality of not being able to candidly discuss having their periods holistically means that a lot of people who menstruate are unable to voice not being able to access menstrual products, and most importantly the quality of the products they use.

This feeds into the global public health crises that persists today although largely ignored, known as ‘period poverty’. Period poverty refers to the prevalent phenomena of being unable to afford products such as pads, tampons, or liners to manage menstrual bleeding. Without access to these products, many people are forced to use items like rags, paper towels, toilet paper, or even cardboard.