If a stranger asked you for a pad or tampon in a public bathroom, most people wouldn’t give it a second thought.
“It’s girl code,” Rochelle Courtenay, 55, from Brisbane, told WHO. “You’d help out.”
If it were me, I would assume the stranger simply got caught out by their period. However, an alarming number of women across Australia actually struggle to get their hands on period products because of the cost and have to resort to makeshift solutions.
It’s something that Courtenay, founder of the Australian charity Share the Dignity — which provides period products to women and anyone menstruating who is homeless, fleeing violence, or doing it tough — learnt about first-hand.
“I read an article about period poverty in 2015,” she said. “It talked about women using rolled up socks and newspaper to deal with their period and I thought, ‘How could that happen in Australia?'”
“I didn’t grow up wealthy, but I’d assumed everyone had what they needed for their periods,” Courtenay says, recalling she was horrified to realise that wasn’t the case.
The majority of Australian women struggle to afford period products
A recent survey found 64 per cent of Australian women struggle to afford period products – a number Courtenay finds alarming.
“I feel like it’s going to get worse in the next few months with all the cost-of-living pressures,” she said. “We want women to use their voices to share the dignity.”
Swisse Wellness and Ads on Pads team up to deliver 17,000 period products across gyms
Thankfully, more of a light is being shone on the issue and big companies are stepping in to help.
Cue Swisse Wellness, which is partnering with Ads on Pads — a social enterprise that helps to fund period products through its advertisements on the products and public dispensers.
“Getting your period unexpectedly shouldn’t mean abandoning your plans. Gyms and studios are places women move through every day, so having products there when they’re needed can make a real difference,” says Ads on Pads Founder and CEO Aditi Gorasia.
“Our experience in New Zealand has shown us how something as simple as access can help women feel more supported to keep moving. We’re excited to partner with Swisse to bring that model to more women in Melbourne” said Gorasia.
The partnership will push out 17,000 period products across Melbourne gyms to ensure women’s health isn’t inhibited by that time of the month, and 10 per cent of the products from the campaign will be donated to Share the Dignity.
“I am grateful to be part of something which has changed Australia,” Courtenay said, acknowledging there is still much to do.
The rollout will span Pilates Republic locations in Brunswick, Collingwood, Fairfield, Ivanhoe, Kingsbury and Preston; Kaya Health Clubs in Melbourne CBD, Chadstone and Prahran; and Prime Athletica in Fitzroy, Thornbury and Ivanhoe.
Find out more about this initiative here.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
