Period Poverty

Together we can help end period poverty in South Australia and we’re getting started by raising awareness within our community.

Period Poverty refers to the issue of women and girls lacking access to sanitary products, menstrual hygiene education, washing facilities and waste management.

The South Australian Government announced in February 2021 that they will pledge $450,000 over the next three years to provide hygiene products to girls in schools from year five onwards. This covers only 1250 young women annually, leaving a gap of potentially thousands of girls without access to hygiene products in schools per year and in some cases an education. A survey conducted by the South Australian Office of Commissioner for Children and Young people found 1 in 4 girls had missed out attending school due to not having access to feminine hygiene products and 1 in 2 reported not having access to products or not knowing how to get access to products at school.

Our aim for this campaign is to raise over $100,000 to help provide 25,000 packs of sanitary pads to over 2000 young South Australian women to help manage their periods for 12 months.

As a firm supporter in the fight against Period Poverty, Kickstart for Kids has created a new Period Poverty program where sanitary items will be distributed to over 360 South Australian schools.

In a 2019 report by the Commissioner for Children & Young People, it was revealed that 74% of schools believe that access to sanitary products is an issue for their students, and in an additional 2020 report, 51% of respondents reported not having access to products or not knowing how to access sanitary products at school. Furthermore, the 2020 report revealed that 26% of participants had missed school because their families couldn’t afford sanitary items and many students reported feeling embarrassed about having their period due to the stigma surrounding periods.

Learn more about Period Poverty or donate below.