Period poverty affects people all over the world. These women of color are working to end it

When Sabrina Natasha Browne runs out of menstrual hygiene products, she, like many people, goes to CVS and pays the $12-15 it may cost to restock. Four years ago, she didn’t realize what number of menstruating women simply couldn’t walk right into a pharmacy and walk out with the menstruation products they needed, especially in her community of Hoboken, New Jersey.

A New Jersey specialist said her eyes were opened when she participated in a volunteer produce collection event organized by The Hoboken Girl and Flow initiativea national nonprofit organization based in New Jersey.

“As a volunteer, I immediately motivated my network to donate thousands of products to those in need,” she added.

Browne didn’t stop there. She eventually became a partner in The Flow Initiative, working with founder Eiko La Boria to end period poverty for all. In particular, she works on organizational partnerships and increases consumer awareness of period poverty across the country.

“I’m proud to be a partner with The Flow Initiative and to be at the forefront of the menstrual health movement with Eiko as we work to end period poverty,” she explained.

Browne described period poverty as “a public health problem in which women, girls and people who menstruate do not have access to products that support menstrual health, including sanitary pads, tampons and sanitary pads.”

She added that this can be a global problem, affecting adults and kids. More or less two out of five teenage girls admitted they couldn’t afford menstrual products, one in five may miss school because of their period, and one other 44% said they felt embarrassed or ashamed about not having access to products. When women do not have reliable access to high-quality menstrual health products, it can impact their ability to go to school, work and contribute to society.

“Period poverty can impact a person in several ways, including disruptions to education, health problems, psychological impacts, economic mobility, and stigma and social isolation,” La Boria shared in an email. “The financial burden of purchasing menstrual products can strain limited household resources, exacerbating poverty.”

Period poverty is a public health issue that will disproportionately affect Black and Brown women and women of lower income status on this country. This may not only be access to the right products, but in addition the right tools to cope with symptoms comparable to pain from cramps.

“Even if a Black woman has access to menstrual products, the symptoms themselves can impact her education, work and personal life. But when these symptoms are compounded by period poverty, the losses can be even greater,” Browne wrote in an email.

While period poverty may accompany poverty generally, “it is not something that discriminates. I’m sitting here and I say, ‘Well, there’s a hot spot in this one particular state.’ Every state struggles with period poverty,” Browne explained.

The Flow Initiative, launched by La Boria in New Jersey in 2018, goals to end period poverty and further promote menstrual health equity. The national nonprofit uses a three-pronged approach to get to the heart of the problem. First of all, it helps deliver products. It then provides education on menstrual health and hygiene. The final step in her approach is to influence policy.

Last 12 months, The Flow Initiative marked the anniversary of his death New Jersey Bill A1349which requires all public schools to provide students in grades 6 through 12 with free menstrual health products. The bill also requires the state to cover the costs, which Browne said “relieves the burden on schools.”

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“From my perspective, we’ve seen that women, girls and people who menstruate feel this particularly at the school level because it’s a big part of what we do,” Browne added.

She explained that students “miss school, career development, and the opportunities that come with not having access to products. And now New Jersey is one of the first states to really chart a path where hopefully other states will replicate and pass similar laws.”

Universal laws could also potentially lead to greater public understanding of menstruation. Browne noted that half of the world’s population menstruates, yet there continues to be rampant misinformation and inadequate education.

Browne said that when organizing events, The Flow Initiative is inundated with questions, from general questions on periods to advice on the best products.

“In doing this work and talking to some of my peers, I learned how many of them either had periods but didn’t know what it was,” Browne noted. “I mean in each of our experiences, when you think about where (you were when) you got your first period: ‘Who helped me?’ “Who listened to me?” For some of us, these are moments of pride and excitement. For others, it may bring back pain and sadness.”

Browne, who’s of Liberian and Belgian descent, said she grew up in a house where menstruation was not shameful. She was raised with enough supplies, not stigma, and was given the number 101 by her grandmother. La Boria, a Puerto Rican woman, didn’t know the details of menstruation until her first period, when her mother, who worked as a nurse, explained to her that it would occur every month.

“I was devastated and irritated,” she said. “It inspired me to provide young people with the education to know what is happening to their bodies, the ability to properly manage their menstrual cycles and understand the enormous responsibility that comes with it.”

Since its inception, the Flow initiative has made quite a few advances. To date, the organization has distributed over 1.3 million menstrual health products, conducted just over 300 workshops, and, as well as to successfully supporting the passage of Bill A1349, helped organize New Jersey’s official Menstrual Health Equality Day on May 28.

They also had the opportunity to partner with major players in the menstrual health market, including U by Kotex and Period.org. Other partners include Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and more.

Browne said that from White House meetings to influencing local policy, the Flow Initiative has managed to establish itself as a “credible national player” in the mission for menstrual health equity.

“We are credible, we are compassionate. We are on the front lines of this work. And that is what the brands which have worked with us appreciate,” she said.

The initiative can be all the time relevant. As part of a social media campaign called ‘Voices for Change’, the organization is organizing a period products drive to secure £100,000 in funds to support students over the summer months. La Boria said they are also preparing for more initiatives.

“The Flow initiative is in an era of innovation and diversification of solutions. We are preparing exciting initiatives,” she said.

To learn more about period poverty and the way you possibly can support its efforts, visit the website Flow Initiative website.