‘A long time coming’: New B.C. task force to fight period poverty after calls from activists

By Victoria Mann

A new task force with a $750,000 provincial grant is being set up with the goal of ending period poverty and removing the stigma around menstruation.

The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction is providing United Way British Columbia (UWBC) with financial backing to establish a multi-sector task force aiming to end period poverty in B.C.

Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual products due to financial barriers, and can sometimes lead to people having to choose between buying food and buying hygiene products.

Neal Adolph, provincial director of labour participation with UWBC told CityNews, “People who menstruate and who don’t have access to free products experience huge amounts of anxiety because, otherwise, they’re staying at home, staying in bed, sitting on a toilet for five to seven days every single month.”

Andolph adds that, in some cases, even if free products are available, asking for them still carries stigma.

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The new Period Poverty Task Force will be chaired by Nikki Hill, who has volunteered as co-chair of United Way’s Period Promise campaign since 2018. Hill says volunteering has taught her how much of an impact a lack of menstrual products has on people’s lives.

“I’m looking forward to taking on this new role with the task force while we build on our work and partnerships to eliminate period poverty and level the playing field for all.”

The remaining task force members will include representatives from business, Indigenous peoples, student and youth organizations and non-profit organizations or people representing individuals with lived experience of period poverty.

The new funding will also support the delivery of free period products to people in need, including through the Period Promise campaign. The Period Promise campaign aims to make it easier for those who menstruate to have easy access the products they need. This year’s campaign runs until June 7 and aims to distribute 700,000 menstrual products.

The grant also supports the ministry’s mandate to make the province a global leader in the fight to end period poverty. Students in B.C. have had access to free menstrual products in school washrooms since 2019.

Angelene Prakash, a menstrual equity activist, says “the establishment of a Period Poverty Task Force has been a long time coming and is paramount in the quest for achieving menstrual equity in British Columbia.”

Adding, “having people with lived experience on the task force will be critical in ensuring that the voices of those who have felt the impact of this inequity are a meaningful part of the solution.”

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