Period Poverty and How We’re Going to Help
Period poverty affects millions of people in the US, causing serious financial and social ramifications. This Cadet Girl Scout project addresses that issue. Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild members are volunteering to sew for this project.
Cadet Scout Lillie with her sample reusable menstrual pads.
PGHMQG has been invited to sew for this Silver Award community service project.
Period poverty is an issue that affects many women around the world, including right here in the Pittsburgh area. Cadet Scout Lillie is completing her Silver Award project on the challenges of participating in society due to unequal access to menstruation resources. Her project is more than simple community service. This is a true service learning project, where the project creator educates the community about the topic they studied, and then conducts a service project recruiting volunteers to participate in its completion. The Silver Award is the second highest award achievable as a Girl Scout. Only the Gold Award is more prestigious, and more involved.
She gave her first presentation on Period Action Day. She educated our guild in January on the ubiquitous nature of menstruation and the far-reaching impact of Period Poverty. Period poverty is the term that encompasses lack of access to information and material resources and the detrimental effect this has on a person and society.
Lillie showing the project components to members at the January meeting
More than 2 million women and girls in the state of Pennsylvania are in the main age range of menstruation. One in seven are below the poverty level. This puts an estimated 285,000 at a serious disadvantage in work, school, and life when it comes to affording menstrual products and the losses they experience as a result. All of these issues are compounded by lack of education and understanding in all of society. In spite of the mundane nature of menstruation, it is stigmatized to the point that the subject is taboo and people feel shame for it. This stigma ends up being discriminatory among society at large and dangerous to those experiencing menstruation without the information to safely manage it.
Only 21 states have a tax exemption for menstrual products. It is not covered by Medicaid, because it has been deemed non-essential. The average woman will spent $18,000 on menstrual products over the course of her life.
Period poverty impacts people in the areas of Physical Health, Mental Health, Education, Financial Stability, Inclusion, and Human Rights. Using period products for longer than the recommended time can result in irritation, rashes, yeast and bacterial infections, and Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). The insecurity from not having adequate products or information can result in embarrassment, stress, isolation, loss of confidence, and other mental health risk factors associated with increased vulnerability. Girls without period products can face lower academic performance, loss of opportunities, and truancy prosecution as a result of missing school. Women may have to choose between period products and other basic necessities. Women without period products can miss work and suffer from similar ramifications as girls missing school, coupled with the potential loss of income. Anyone experiencing medical complications from using products in excess of the recommended time also have the financial burden of medical costs. When anyone has to miss work, school, or events from lack of period products, they also miss opportunities for inclusion; society misses out on the benefits of an inclusive society when any group is excluded. The UN declares participation in society and education as basic human rights, which cannot be fulfilled when menstrual product deficiencies keep them from participating in daily life.
Members can view all of Lillie’s slides from the presentation to our guild in the members only page of the website.
Lillie’s service project is to create reusable menstrual pads for the Southwestern PA Community. She is using the Days for Girls reusable pad pattern. She is supplying the materials for these pads. Her call to action is for people to help sew these pads. If you would like to participate in this service project and do community sewing, you can pick up materials to use at our March Sew Day. We’ll be there all day, so you can sew one or many reusable menstrual pads.
Use the QR code above to get the directions for this community service sewing project.
West View Urban Farm will have the final products available for the community. They have supported other Silver Award projects from this troop.