Tackling Menstruation Stigma Through Education

A policy adopted in Eugene’s 4J School District has been creating safe spaces for transgender students from kindergarten through high school. Gender-inclusive programs at the University of Oregon have marked the school as a national leader in LGBTQ acceptance.

Research has shown that when young people have their basic needs met and feel positive about their futures, they are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. The Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program has reduced pregnancy rates by 40 percent in New York by meeting teens educational, emotional, and employment needs.

Students in Scottish schools, colleges, and universities will now be able to access free sanitary products. This eliminates the indignity of “period poverty” and helps students avoid missing school due to being unable to afford sanitary products.

Jane Cavarozzi, an entrepreneur and activist, started Dirty Girl coffee to “support economic development and women’s advancement in the small, depressed villages around Appalachian Ohio.” She lives in the town of Glouster and is respected for living local and working local, as opposed to being an outsider problem-solver. Though her coffee company is just one small step forward, she works closely with community groups to move economic development initiatives for the region forward.

Uganda’s education ministry requires all schools to have incinerators to burn used sanitary pads. Lack of funding limits schools’ ability to comply. Even when incinerators exist, girls don’t necessarily use them. Educating both girls and boys about menstruation reduces stigma and increases the likelihood that girls feel comfortable enough to collect pads instead of throwing them in pit latrines.

The first Human Library emerged in 2000 in Copenhagen, and has since exploded in popularity to the point of operating chapters in more than 70 different countries. The concept is that readers should not judge a book by its cover, so in this library, actual people are the books available to read with titles like "Polyamorous", "Soldier (PTSD)", and "Refugee". The 30-minute "reading sessions" (face-to-face conversations) allow people to learn in a judgement-free zone and put a real person behind the story they are hearing.

Amid the pandemic, medical researchers and an abortion-rights advocacy group in the U.S. are working to make the abortion pill available via mail. Although there is ambiguity surrounding the rules and regulations of how the pill must be distributed to patients, some doctors have helped efforts by agreeing to register with F.D.A.-approved manufacturers and a handful of states are allowing the pill to be mailed after an in-person ultrasound has been conducted.

Better Reproductive Health, Better Communities Project is a partnership between nonprofits and medical providers working to increase awareness about unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions, while also ensuring women have better access to high-quality post-abortion care. The project has focused on providing family planning and emergency contraception to women in low-income urban areas. Volunteer peer educators and social media has helped reach over 4,000 women, spreading information about sexual and reproductive health services and connecting women to quality abortion care.

Coaches and players around the world are using sports to teach boys about masculinity and the importance of integrity, both on and off the field. From cricket in India to rugby in Fiji, games are used as a foundation for teaching important life lessons and values. As a result, young men participating in these programs have been found less likely to show aggression and more likely to believe abuse against women is wrong.

The Golden Girls shelter has been providing meals, medical aid, and other support services for women with children who are experiencing homelessness. Since the Golden Girls living space opened, the program has served a total of 50 women ranging in age from the early 50s to late 70s. While at the shelter, staff members help them complete paperwork so they can receive Social Security payments, pensions, or alimony, and apply for affordable housing. They’re also provided medical care, counseling, and assistance finding jobs.