Women and girls skipping school or work due to period poverty, survey finds
Friday, 2 November 2018
Calls for the Government to take action to help women and girls suffering period poverty have come following a survey showing many are forced to skip work or school because they can't afford sanitary products.
Almost a quarter of the 5000 New Zealand women who responded to the KidsCan survey said they had missed school or work because of their period, and 53.1 per cent said they had found it difficult to access sanitary items due to cost at some point.
One in three respondents said they had had to prioritise buying other items like food, over sanitary items, the survey released on Thursday, said.
When they couldn't afford them, most resorted to toilet paper, but some women admitted using rags and old cloths and many mentioned using disposable or cloth nappies.
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Tukau Community Fund co-founder Season-Mary Downs said there needs to be a conversation around the issue and the Government needs to do something about it.
Downs said it's about empowering women to find ways to help them manage their periods.
'In Northland period poverty is a real issue. It's associated with the issue of general poverty; if you can't afford food it's no surprise you can't afford sanity products which aren't cheap.
'No woman should have to use a rag or not go to school or use things that take away their dignity.
'Everywhere we go it's an issue, it's an issue for New Zealand.
'I'd like to see a more inclusive approach to how the Government addresses issues of affordability of sanitary products to also include reusable options including menstrual cups.'
KidsCan undertook the survey to understand the level of period poverty Kiwi girls and women are experiencing.
KidsCan chief executive Julie Chapman said the results confirm concerns voiced by teachers and principals about the number of girls missing school when they have their period.
'As Kiwis we pride ourselves on leading the way in gender equality. But this is a huge, hidden barrier to that,' she said.
'For girls in low income families, education is the best way out of hardship. But they're being denied that chance because they can't afford basic necessities like sanitary items.'
Kaiwaka mum Melanie Gilligan said she sometimes struggles to buy sanitary products for herself and her teenage daughter, especially since the family are down to one income after her husband had a stroke.
She spends $30 a month on sanitary items, and has sometimes gone without to ensure her daughter has them. She has stayed home from work twice while waiting between pay days when she 'got caught out'. Six months ago she used rags.
'It made me feel poor, like how did my life come to this?'
'But it's more important she [daughter] has what she needs.'
Downs and her sister Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime helped set up a partnership between social enterprise My Cup NZ and the Tukau Community Fund to give free menstrual cups to women and girls who can't afford them.
Since September 2017, the initiative had given out more than 2400 menstrual cups to women and girls in Kawakawa, Moerewa, Kaikohe and Kaeo.
Downs said using menstrual cups - which are reusable and last for 10 years - could save women about $20 a month, or $240 a year.
Willow-Jean Prime said the survey is 'helpful in shining a light on what we have been seeing locally in Northland'.
'What that's telling us is backing up what we've seen on the ground in Northland, and what we've been responding to.
'I think the Government needs to look at the issue and think about how we can respond and work with communities and families.
'There are a number of ways this could be approached, including looking at GST on products and fully funding products.'