Let’s talk Menstrual Product Availability

“Does anyone have a tampon?” 

“I think I bled through, I don’t know what to do, I have to go to my next class” 

“Does anyone have anything? I thought I put more in my backpack last week”.

These are all examples of texts that I have either sent or received while at school. 

The feeling of starting your period in the middle of school day and not having any pads or tampons with you is scary. You don’t know what to do. You check the bathroom to see if there are any feminine products available, but unfortunately there are none. This is something that women all over the world and the nation struggle with. This lack of menstrual products is also known as “period poverty”. Schools and universities everywhere are lacking menstrual products in bathrooms, this could be due to a lack of money, being unaware of the issue, or the school does not see it as an important issue that needs to be fixed. 

Around our campus at JMU, a small number of bathrooms in educational buildings have menstrual products available for students and faculty. Although the university has spaces that offer menstrual products such as the pharmacy, Mr.chips, and a select few bathrooms scattered across the university’s campus, that is nowhere near enough to fulfill the needs of the students. There are many situations where someone does not have access to menstrual products, such as an unexpected period and you didn’t think to pack any menstrual products before you left for school, some people don’t have access to menstrual products do to financial they may not be able to afford them. People who might be in financial distress while in school should be able to get menstrual products from their school at easy convenience. That time of the month is already hard, but having to worry about where or how to get the proper menstrual products makes it so much harder.  

Not having access to the proper menstrual products can not only lead to discomfort, but it can lead to more serious issues such as urinary tract infections, blood contamination, and even toxic shock syndrome, if someone only has a limited supply of menstrual products. Students who get their period while at school and do not have any menstrual products with them are put into a difficult situation. No one wants to get their period when they have a long day of classes ahead of them, especially when they are going to have to spend the day focusing on whether anyone can notice that they are on their period or trying to find someone or someone that could give them menstrual products. According to the National Institute of Health, the lack of access to menstrual products negatively affects a student’s school attendance. Lessening their education because of their period is not the solution, women should not have to put their lives on hold because of their period or lack of menstrual products. 

Universities have large amounts of money, but unfortunately that money doesn’t always go to things that will benefit the students most. Athletics is a department that comes to mind when I think of places that our tuition money goes that could be used elsewhere on campus. Many universities have enough money to supply more bathrooms with menstrual products, which could be restocked when things such as toilet paper and paper towels are restocked. Just because an issue such as lack of menstrual products does not affect the whole population of a school, such as the men, does not mean that it is not an issue that we should take seriously. Many male administrators do not see the lack of menstrual products as a significant issue that needs to be resolved. Many states are trying to figure out ways to implement more resources and products for students so that they are able to get the right products whenever they may need them.