Advocates Around the World Celebrate Period Action Day this Saturday, October 14th

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This upcoming Saturday, October 14th, 2023, menstrual equity advocates around the world are joining together to celebrate Period Action Day to take action against period poverty and stigma. Celebrated every second Saturday in October, this is the fifth annual day of action created by advocacy organization PERIOD.

This year, activists from PERIOD. chapters and nonprofit partners are hosting over 50 events around the world, including menstrual product drives and rallies, to demand accessible period products for students in schools and an end to the discriminatory sales tax on period products, which still exists in 21 United States. Activists are also participating in a collective goal to donate 1 million period products to their communities in need in a single day.

In 2023, nearly 1 in 4 United States students struggle to afford period products, as shown in the new State of the Period 2023 study by Thinx and PERIOD., which is unchanged from study results of 2021. However, in the last two years, access to period products in schools has improved, with a 7% increase of teens reporting that their school is supportive when it comes to accessing period products, now up to 52% of respondents. Youth respondents also overwhelmingly call for increased menstrual health education in schools. PERIOD. is committed to continuing this work until all schools provide period products and menstrual health education for their students.

Period Action Day events in states with a current sales tax on menstrual products will demand an end to the unfair tax through tax reimbursement demands, in partnership with PERIOD.'s partner and lawyers for the menstrual movement, Period Law.

"Period Law helped consumers file similar demands in 2019 and this pressured legislators to end the tampon tax in a number of states, including Texas last session," said Suzanne Herman, Period Law's Legal Director.  "That's why we're eager to get even more people to participate this year."

PERIOD. calls for individuals and organizations to donate products on Saturday, and invites everyone to log their donation on the Period Action Day site and watch the global impact grow to 1 million throughout the day.    

Youth leaders have led the charge in advocating for legislation to fund and mandate access to free period products in schools, and their efforts are working. "This Period Action Day we call on policymakers to listen to the demands of youth, and make period products less expensive and easily available," says Michela Bedard, Executive Director at PERIOD. "The global menstrual movement is bigger and more prepared than ever before to end period poverty and stigma in our lifetime."

About PERIOD.: PERIOD. is a global advocacy organization founded in 2014 working to end period poverty and stigma through advocacy, education and service with over 300 chapters around the world. The chapters are primarily led by students who work to end period poverty in their own communities. PERIOD. helps promote laws and policies that make period products affordable and accessible, creates original menstrual health curriculum and resources, and distributes millions of period products annually. Learn more at period.org

MEDIA CONTACT
Emily Swanigan
[email protected]

SOURCE PERIOD.