According to a survey of health workers in 30 countries by Plan International, Plan International, the coronavirus crisis leaves girls and women worldwide struggling to manage their periods with many confronting severe commodity shortages, sharp price increases, and lack of basic information and service access. This survey was released in conjunction with World Menstrual Health Day and draws on professional evidence from menstrual hygiene, water, sanitation, hygiene, and sexual health rights. Before the pandemic, there were several problems, but the virus exacerbates the situation. We already know that the pandemic of coronavirus has severe effects on family finances around the world. But now we also see that girls and women face a massive shortage and price increases for period products, which forces many to do what they can to manage their time. This can pose a serious threat to your health and the risk of infection may increase. Period stigma causes and has negative consequences for females because of gender inequality.
Activists have been pursuing improved information on menstruation health, free products, and more for decades. However, the government and the media are just recently gaining momentum in the provision of period items. The movement has been more and more prominent since roughly 2015. Initiatives and campaigns go hand in hand. However, the common aspect of most of these efforts is that they focus on the product. The bigger concern, stigma, may be missed by placing the pad, the tampon, the cup, or the pants first.
However, people need more than pads, information, and assistance. There is no doubt that access to things is very crucial. But, after a deeper reflection, (partly) the same old tabu continues. As Professor Chris Bobel observes in her latest work on women, gender, and sex studies, the pleasant time in the span of time that we don’t see or know. Cover it, cover it up, and live on. The underlying truth we seldom deal with or see is messy.