Why Menstrual Equity?

• 1 in 10 college students have experienced period poverty. (Cardoso et al., 2021)
• In a 2021 study published in BMC Women's Health, it was revealed that Black and Latina women reported experiencing the highest rates of period poverty among those sampled. (Cardoso et al., 2021) 
• According to a 2021 study titled State of the Period conducted by THINX and PERIOD., nearly 25% of students reported struggling to access menstrual products. In addition, 51% of students also reported wearing products for longer than recommended.
• THINX & PERIOD.'s 2019 State of the Period revealed that 4 in 5 students reported missing class or knowing someone who had missed class, due to not having access to menstrual products.
• In a 2019 study that surveyed low-income women in St. Louis, Missouri, it was shown that 64% of participants were unable to afford menstrual products during the previous year, and one-fifth of women experienced this monthly.46% of the women surveyed could not afford to purchase both food and menstrual products during the past year.  (Sebert Kuhlmann et al., 2019)

Sources:

Colorado 2022 Study on Women's Period Poverty, Diaper Need, and Hygiene Poverty 

Cardoso, L.F., Scolese, A.M., Hamidaddin, A. et al. Period poverty and mental health implications among college-aged women in the United States. BMC Women's Health 21, 14 (2021).

Sebert Kuhlmann, A., Peters Bergquist, E., Danjoint, D., & Wall, L. L. (2019). Unmet Menstrual Hygiene Needs Among Low-Income Women. Obstetrics and gynecology, 133(2), 238–244. 

How Can I Access Free Menstrual Products at UNC?

• What are Project M.E.’s Goals?
  • Provide free, sustainable, in bulk menstrual products for UNC Bears, for as long as they are a UNC Bear.
  • Remove access barriers to education for menstruating individuals.
  • Increase awareness and conversations surrounding menstrual equity.
  • Enhance knowledge and involvement around allyship.
  • Foster community and empowerment for menstruating individuals and allies.
  • Participate in creating an inclusive and welcoming university campus.
• Would you like to know more about where your products come from?  
  • To learn more about CORA, organic products, and their story please visit: https://cora.life/pages/our-story-2020
• Project M.E. Impact

  Project M.E. has provided menstrual resources since the year 2021. The following statistics represent individual M.E. Packs that have been distributed to the UNC community and the total number of individual products that we have provided in our three years of operation.

  • • E Packs:
      • 1,385 M.E. Pack Orders
    • Individual tampons:
      • 18,494 individual units
    • Individual Pads:
      • 23,234 individual units
    • Individual Cups:
      • 412 individual units
    • Grand total:
      • 42,140 menstrual products combined

  Additionally, the Center for Women’s and Gender Equity and Project M.E., in collaboration with Student Senate, Student LEAF, and the Office of Health Promotion converted menstrual product bathroom dispensers across campus to provide free menstrual products to all.

• How Can I Support UNC’s Menstrual Equity Efforts

  Project M.E. uplifts students’ voices and concerns and aims to provide a solution. If you would like to support this initiative in its efforts to improve access, education, and community, here are a couple of ways that can help you get started.

  • Keep up to date and participate!
    • Project M.E. holds an annual Lauch Party wherein students can fill out their own orders. We have food, conversations, and connections ready to happen during our event. Come and take a look at the behind the scenes of your M.E. Pack order.
    • Keep an eye out! Project M.E. will pop up across campus on certain days. You can grab as many menstrual products as you need, get a free tote, and interact with our staff.
  • Be an Ally. Be an Accomplice!
    • Acquire knowledge and speak out. Menstruating individuals already face enough odds. You can help by being part of the conversation. You can lead, innovate, or simply participate. What matters is that you care.
    • Pick up a Mini M.E. These little packs contain one pad, one tampon, information regarding menstrual equity, and some swag. You never know when you or someone around you may need emergency products. With Mini M.E.’s you now increase access and contribute towards change.
  • Connect with Us!
    • Follow us on Instagram! We regularly post our upcoming events and engage with our online following.
      • @ unco_cwge
    • Feel free to call us and connect. Our phone number is 970-351-1492.
    • You can also email us at cwge@unco.edu
    • Lastly, take a minute and stop by in person.
• Menstrual Equity Resources
  • https://www.periodlaw.org/
  • https://justicenecessary.org/study
  • https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/period-equity-what-is-it-why-does-it-matter-202106012473
    • Written by an obstetrician/gynecologist. Speaks on period poverty. The lack of access to menstrual products, addressing stigma, and addressing period poverty.
  • https://www.periodlaw.org/issues/
    • Speaks on the period tax. How we can help those who do not have regular access to period products. And lastly, Toxin Free products.
  • https://womensvoices.org/menstrual-care-products/
    • Speaks on the toxicity of menstrual products and the major problem of these chemicals not being required to be labeled on the box.
  • https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2019&issue=02000&article=00002&type=Fulltext
    • This is a study that is referred to in the first link. Addresses the fact that 64% of women recruited for the study were unable to afford menstrual products.
  • https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/personal-hygiene/menstrual.html
    • Speak on Menstrual Hygiene
• Request a Menstrual Equity Toolkit 
  • The CWGE has developed a toolkit for promoting menstrual equity practices. To request one, click here: Menstrual Equity Toolkit
• Our Story 

  In the fall of 2020, Rosie Glaser, who was an undergraduate student at the time, facilitated a movement to address menstrual equity on their college campus. To begin their advocacy, they began the conversation with our campus partners at the Office of Health Promotion and developed a plan to identify funding to begin implementing several ideas for addressing access to free menstrual products. After receiving funding to run a pilot program, Rosie connected with our campus Center for Women's and Gender Equity (CWGE) to further develop and implement their ideas for converting all product dispensers across campus to free dispensing and to offer free bulk products to students. From there, the CWGE became a fully invested campus partner and in the fall of 2021 began the transition of operationalizing this program into a free campus resource being facilitated out of their center. Since then, the center and its staff have focused on the sustainability and inclusivity of this initiative.

  

• Justice Necessary 
  We would like to thank Justice Necessary for supporting Project M.E through their generous donations of organic products.
  

  

  Please, visit https://justicenecessary.org/ to visit Media & Press page and to review the results of their Colorado 2022 Survey on Women's Period Poverty, Diaper Need, and Hygiene Poverty survey.