Period poverty affects 3 in 5 people who menstruate in Australia.
To combat this issue, governments and councils across Australia are placing their own policies and legislation to provide free or subsidised period products.
The ACT led the charge in 2023, becoming the first Australian jurisdiction to pass legislation for free period products, known as the Period Products and Facilities Access Act.
Nikki Goddard, Assistant Director for period products at the Office for Women, explains what caused the push to act.
“A 2021 survey that Share the Dignity completed, 15 per cent of people who were menstruating and from the ACT were experiencing period poverty,” she said.
“I think the ACT Program, and whilst other states and territories may have programs that they’re developing, it’s definitely something that could be seen as a benchmark that other states and territories could implement.”
Goddard does suggest more can be done despite their efforts.
“The next steps are to program and to ascertain feedback from community members about their experience of the program any feedback on how things could be improved in terms of accessibility of products, education and information about menstrual hygiene.”
“As a government organisation, we need to put in the submission for future funding.”
What is WA doing?
The WA government recently rolled out a program to provide free period products in public primary schools, following a similar initiative undertaken across Perth .high schools.
However, not much else is being done to help the matter.
Image 1 (Statistics): WA sits as the fourth-highest state of women unable to afford period products
With over 65 per cent of people in WA being unable to afford period products, the Fremantle Women’s Health Centre have taken a stand.
Clinical Nurse Fran explains how the health centre makes an impact.
“We started with Menstrual Hygiene Day, which is in May, and that is about recognising all the women and people who menstruate,” she said.
“We have, over the years, done our own drives asking for donations.”
As one of the only women’s health centres in WA to advocate for free period products, Nurse Fran is proud to be a part of the solution.
“It’s obviously a huge issue; menstruation and periods affect at least 50 per cent of the population, so it’s important to us that we’re part of that.”
“We’re working towards eliminating period poverty”
With mixed messages from councils, existing initiatives, and a lack of movement is not solving the issue.
“Some of the local governments, such as Cockburn Council or Melville Fremantle, do offer some subsidy for period products, but unfortunately, there are some limitations to that,” she sayssaid.
“[a lot of that is] only one person per household, so if you have more than one person that administers in their household, then that creates an issue and probably should be addressed.”
Nurse Fran suggests it goes deeper than the conversation at hand.
“Women are still underrepresented in the workforce”.
“So making sure that not only women are well educated around period poverty, but that men are well educated and can understand how significant it is for half of the population.”
With still a stigma on periods, menstruation and women the major concern is not just period poverty, but rather the education surrounding women’s reproductive health.
“In a supermarket, it’s described as hygiene products when it actually has nothing to do with hygiene,” Nurse Fran explains.
“It’s actually to do with a normal part of being a woman.”
