Access to necessary feminine hygiene products during the school day is limited. This issue was not addressed in the school’s remodel, but better late than never.
One major step into easing the stress surrounding periods in school would be installing feminine hygiene product dispensers in the bathrooms and providing pain relievers such as Midol in the clinic.
The lack of accessible feminine hygiene products affects at least half of the student population. According to Dr. Carol Livoti, in the United States, 97.5 percent of those who menstruate have begun their cycles by the age of 16, and it is normal for cycles to be irregular up until the age of 18. This means that not only do menstruating students have to deal with the inconvenience of a period, but the chance of being caught off guard and without a period product is much higher. Studies from the University of California’s Department of Psychiatry also suggest that artificial lights influence the menstrual cycle.
The implementation of tampon and pad dispensers has already been proven successful, as seen in New York City Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland’s program to install a single dispenser in a school in Queens. Due to the positive reaction from the community, the program was expanded to 25 other schools, increasing attendance rates from 90 percent to 92.4 within just six months. According to alive.com, the average tampon user uses more than 11,000 tampons in their life. Assuming one is in high school for four years, and the average life expectancy of a U.S. female is 79, the average menstruating student will use about 175 tampons over the course of their high school career.
An argument against the installation of such resources is the expense of continuously purchasing feminine hygiene products, but the idea that these products aren’t absolutely necessary goes hand in hand with the fact that tampons and pads are taxed as luxury items. Feminine hygiene products are just as necessary as something like toilet paper and I highly doubt that anyone has ever complained about the toilet paper budget.
Another counterpoint is that there are already resources in the clinic, but not only would the trek to the clinic be extremely inconvenient between classes, but even those products are limited. According to ABC News Health, menstrual symptoms lead to 100 million lost work hours in America yearly, but the distribution of pain relievers in school such as Midol isn’t allowed without parental permission.
The bottom line is widespread access to feminine hygiene products is a necessity, period.