The Fight for Menstrual Justice!

Menstrual inequity is an issue that is both global and local. Tampons, pads, and other menstrual hygiene products are not accessible to economically insecure menstruators via food stamps, health insurance, or Medicaid coverage. The tax on menstrual health products, or “tampon tax,” targets Americans who menstruate and amounts to a financial barrier for menstruators who are unhoused, incarcerated, or simply struggling to make ends meet. According to the National Women’s Law Center, nearly 1 in 8 American women lived in poverty in 2018, 1 in 4 teens in the U.S. has missed class because they don’t have access to menstrual products, and nearly 1 in 3 women of childbearing age were economically insecure (lived below 200 percent of the federal poverty line). Women of color are hit hardest by poverty and economic insecurity.