Kiwi shoppers are being urged to donate female sanitary products to The Foodbank Project, an online foodbank collaboration between The Salvation Army, Countdown and web developer Lucid, in a bid to help young women who struggle with the cost of acquiring these necessary items.
“Female sanitary products are not a luxury, but for young Kiwi women on tight budgets they’re an expense that’s hard to afford,” says Manurewa MP and Labour Youth Affairs spokesperson Louisa Wall.
“A lack of sanitary products has been identified as an obstacle to regular school attendance,” says Wall. “Some girls stay home when it’s their period because they cannot afford sanitary products. Others resort to makeshift and unhygienic measures such as recycling used pads or improvising pads from old clothes, rags, newspapers and other materials—putting them at risk of infection and sickness.”
This is not only a problem for high school students, but also for university students who typically don’t have much money. “Some university students can’t afford to take public transport or have to skip meals when it’s their period so they have money to buy pads and tampons,” she says.
Shoppers wishing to help out can now donate $15 women’s hygiene bundles through The Foodbank Project, which will be distributed to The Salvation Army’s foodbanks. The bundle can be given as a one-off donation, or set up to recur monthly.
Countdown supplier Kimberley-Clark has kick-started the campaign with $2,500 worth of sanitary products as a donation.
Meanwhile, The Salvation Army will approach schools in Wellington and Porirua to talk about discretely supplying sanitary products to young women who need them as part of a new pilot project.
“We don’t want any of our young women to miss out on learning opportunities,” says Major Pam Waugh, head of Salvation Army Community Ministries. “We know that poverty can follow people throughout their lifetime, so it’s essential students who are making every effort to improve their future prospects are not held back because it’s ‘that time of the month’.”
A recent survey by Wateraid reported that three-quarters of UK women feared the embarrassment of blood leaking onto their clothes while out in public during their period. Just over half feared smelling bad. Only six per cent of women reported experiencing no anxiety around their periods.
“There is the risk of embarrassment for anyone during their period—but poverty increases a woman’s vulnerability even more,” says Wall. “We need to establish interventions that will empower our girls and young women so they are not marginalised simply because they are menstruating.”
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