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Insights
Needed: male allies to fight period poverty
Breaking stigma and barriers to access to hygiene products requires active cooperation from both sexes
When a well-read, analytical, and endlessly curious friend recently confessed ignorance to what period poverty is, I became aware of how widespread it is for this problem to be overlooked. You see, my friend also is a brilliant physician. We have rich, open-ended, insightful conversations that always leave me thinking.
I told him about my recent trips to Jamaica, where I met with women undergoing hysterectomies due to severe fibroids. Burdened by debilitating health issues, these women told me how heavy menstrual bleeding had caused them years of emotional and financial stress. They faced a “choice” between purchasing food and other family essentials or purchasing period products. Unable to afford the latter, they missed work, lost jobs, lost social connections, and faced deep isolation. The ripple effects of period poverty had taken a devastating toll on their lives and livelihoods.
I finished sharing my experience when my friend leaned back and, genuinely puzzled, asked, “What is period poverty?”
At first, I thought he was joking. But as I began to explain it to him, I heard both shock and empathy in his voice. I know he considers himself to be a proud, well-informed, and aware “girl dad.”
His response was a reminder of how wide the informational gap is regarding menstrual equity and how deep the roots of this problem run. Silence around menstruation is a social norm fed by a lack of knowledge, systemic failures perpetuated by cultural taboos, and overall societal silence. It has created an unacceptable blind spot.
It’s unacceptable because period poverty affects millions of women and girls globally, including two out of five women in the United States. In Jamaica, where I grew up, 44% of the female population are affected and 20% of girls miss school because they lack access to period products.
On this 20-Minute Health Talk, Jamaica's National Healthcare Enhancement Foundation (NHEF) Director Courtney Cephas reflects on working with health systems like Northwell to strengthen care on the island.
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In many societies, menstruation is treated as a private, almost shameful, experience. Stigma discourages open conversations, especially between genders. Schools often fail to include menstrual health in their curriculum and, if they do, content focuses on girls and leaves boys uninformed. Government policies and educational programs often exclude menstrual equity, reinforcing the idea that the issue is not a priority. The added assumption and ignorance around menstruation being solely a “female issue” keeps men from engaging with the topic, further perpetuating the longstanding, painful silence.
After doing his own research, my friend returned to me apologetic and embarrassed. His ignorance was not malicious, but a product of societal shortcomings. Since our conversation, he has become an avid supporter and promoter of my “Dignity for All” initiative, which addresses period poverty in my homeland and ensures menstruation is not an obstacle to getting an education.
Men need to be more than supporters; they must become allies. Those men who occupy positions of influence and critical decision-making about funding, policy, and education have a responsibility to speak openly about menstruation. I’m asking men to normalize conversations about periods and menstrual poverty to reduce the senseless shame associated with it. Every father, brother, uncle, partner, and friend can help unburden women who may be living with that shame, or with period poverty.
My friend’s transformation from ignorance to advocacy is proof that men can be effective allies when they are informed and empowered. Menstruation is not a “female” issue, but a societal one.
I encourage all men and boys to educate themselves as my friend did so bravely, to ask the women in their lives about their experiences and advocate for menstrual equity in their communities and workplaces. Let’s challenge the silence so we might transform ignorance into action and period poverty into menstrual equity.
Sandra Lindsay, DHSc, MBA, RN is the vice president of public health advocacy for Northwell Health.
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