4 out of 10 women in Spain have not been able to afford the menstrual product of their choice

According to a study by IDIAPJGol, between 22.2% and 39.9% of menstruating women and people report having suffered from menstrual poverty. The results are based on more than 22,000 survey participants and also indicate that women with greater socioeconomic difficulties, as well as non-binary and trans* people who menstruate, are those who are most at risk of suffering from menstrual inequity.

A team from the Jordi Gol i Gurina University Institute for Research in Primary Care (IDIAPJGol) has carried out the 'Equity and Menstrual Health' study. Funded by the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health, it aimed to identify and understand menstrual (in)equity, as well as the characteristics of menstrual health in women menstruating women and people in Spain. This is the first research project in Spain to obtain data on inequity and menstrual health.

Menstrual poverty in Spain

The results are based on data provided by 22,823 women and menstruating individuals who participated in an online survey conducted between March and July 2021. Among the main conclusions, the researchers found that up to 22.2% of the participants reported not having had access to menstrual products at some point in their lives for financial reasons. In addition, up to 39.9% report not having been able to afford the menstrual product of their choice.

The main risk factors for experiencing menstrual poverty were identifying as a non-binary person, having been born outside of Spain, residing in Spain in an irregular administrative situation, and having a precarious employment situation. On the other hand, the protective factors against menstrual poverty were having university studies and not having had socioeconomic problems in the last 12 months.

The management of menstruation in public, work and school spaces

In addition, more than 74% of the participants indicated that they had overused a menstrual product due to not having access to a suitable place to change it. Among the most affected are full-time workers, younger women and those most affected socioeconomically.

Absenteeism from work due to menstrual health issues was indicated by 18.3% of the participants; school absenteeism by 56.6%. For their part, up to 76.4% of the participants indicated the need to have flexible hours or telework for better menstrual management and 49.9% asked to have access to menstrual leave (for example, in cases of intense menstrual pain ). As the researchers indicate, "it is urgent to develop policies for the management of menstruation in the work, educational and public environment, so that the environments in which we live and work are adapted to the needs of menstruating women and people."

Discrimination for menstruating, access to health services and menstrual learning

More than 42% of the participants reported having experienced menstrual discrimination at some time. In this case too, non-binary people, with more economic difficulties or residing in Spain in an irregular administrative situation were the ones most likely to suffer from this situation.

The probability of accessing health services to consult about menstruation was significantly higher in participants with university education. On the other hand, 57.8% of those surveyed reported not having had menstrual education or that it was partial before the first menstruation, with the family environment, school and friends being the sources of learning main menstrual In adulthood, menstruating women and people find out about menstruation mostly through the internet (60%) and social networks (35.1%).

Public policies to combat menstrual inequity

The main researcher of the study, Laura Medina Perucha, explains that “our study suggests that menstrual inequity affects a large part of the women and people who menstruate in Spain, especially those from the most vulnerable groups ”. For this reason, it adds that it is necessary that menstrual inequity be addressed from public policies that are based on social justice and with a gender perspective in which they consider the diversity and specific needs of different groups of women and people who menstruate.

“These policies should focus not only on addressing menstrual poverty, but also the lack of menstrual education and healthcare for menstrual health, the difficulty of menstrual management in work, school and public settings, as well as the stigma and discrimination we experience menstruating women and people associated with menstruating, among other aspects of menstrual inequity”, concludes Medina Perucha.