Every day 800 million women, girls and trans people, menstruate. Currently, it is estimated that 26% of the global female population is of reproductive age according to Unicef, and a person who menstruates would spend at least 7 years of his life menstruating, if they were continuous days.
A survey by WASH United, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGS) and Unicef, revealed that one in four people who menstruate between the ages of 13 and 35 has stated that it has been more difficult to manage their menstruation since the arrival of VOCID-19. Ina Jurga, the international coordinator of Global Menstrual Hygiene Day said in the same survey that 47% of these people have had difficulty accessing menstrual entries during the pandemic.
Unlike men, women go through a biological process once a month: menstruation. Hygienic towels, tampons, menstrual cups, special underwear, the options are varied, and yet access is not universal; and in many cases they are not even considered a basic necessity. A clear example of this was the aid baskets delivered by the Chilean government during quarantine last year. Several feminist groups and women joined a campaign conducted through social media, criticizing the government: “In quarantine we continue menstruating”.
Before the pandemic, tickets for this physiological process could be obtained in different places. Although many have closed, the need has not diminished, so organizations around the world have coordinated to help and deliver products, due to the increase in people in need for COVID-19. Many individuals have lost sources of income, have difficulty accessing basic needs, and are even risking being left on the street; and some of them, while menstruating.
Currently, these people have to procure these products themselves, even if they do not have the necessary resources. According to The State of the Period, a paper by Thinx & PERIOD, one in five teens has had trouble paying for menstrual products or simply couldn’t buy them, And this before the pandemic, which further intensifies the debate on menstrual poverty and the difficult access to these products by parts of the population.
Grace Meng, part of the U.S. Congress representing New York’s District 6, declared in May 2020 that “menstrual equity is not a choice or a luxury. It is a human right, a right to In the current fight against COVD-19, menstruation is not expected, and today, with more than 40 million Americans out of work due to the pandemic, socioeconomic “Poverty during menstruation is increasing. Today it is more important than ever to ensure that all those who need these products can get them.”
Difficult access to Chile
In Chile, it is estimated that more than 15,000 people live on the streets, according to the Llar de Cristo, a foundation that served more than this amount in 2018. The official figure is nine years ago, in 2012, and corresponds to the information collected by the Second Cadastre of People in Street Situations. This file stated that 12,255 people were homeless, which corresponds to 5,001 more individuals than those declared in the first version of the cadastre conducted in 2005.
Of this official figure, 16% were women: about 2,400. Most of these women are young, the average age is lower than that of men on the street. Most of these women have explained that they are in this situation escaping domestic violence, partner or spouse, among other reasons, as reported by the data provided by Data Voice Statcom in its report on people in street situations conducted in 2017.
In interviews conducted to conduct this report, it was revealed that only 35% of women living on the street have a job, and that the income received is 36.5% lower than that of men. 79% of the women interviewed have no social security.
In Chile, menstruating people represent 51% of the total population. Last year, the Gent del Carrer Foundation launched its #MenstruarEnLaCalle campaign, the aim of which was to raise awareness of how people who menstruate and live in a street situation live their menstruation. Instead, they explain that “the idea arose from the concern of Carla Fernandini, Executive Assistant of the Foundation, about the social stigma that revolves around this biological process. Also, concern about the injustices associated with the ‘pink tax that triggers situations like menstrual poverty’.
The annual expenditure of an individual on menstrual products in our country would be around 48,000 pesos, according to a bill presented in 2019 by 30 senators, including Isabel Allende, Guido Girardi, Yasna Provoste, Ximena Rincón and Manuel José Ossandón.
In January 2020, resolution 663 was approved by 133 votes in favor of the Chamber of Deputies. It “requests the President of the Republic to send a bill that provides for the free distribution of menstrual hygiene products in educational establishments with contributions from the state, in public health centers, prisons, hostels and people in street situations “as stated by the press room of the Chamber.