On any given day, around 300 million women and girls globally will have their periods. Menstruation is a healthy, natural and essential part of the human reproductive system. It is not a choice but a bodily function that approximately half of the population – adolescent girls, along with transgender boys and non-binary persons who menstruate – experiences, an average of once per month, for around 40 years of their lives.

Periods don’t stop when times are tough, or in an emergency. But all too often in crisis situations, girls, women and people who menstruate struggle to manage their periods with dignity, as access to basic supplies and essential health services becomes limited.

Australia is in the grip of a crushing cost of living crisis, and it is young people who are bearing the brunt of it. A recent cost of living report found that 90% of Generation Z – young people born between 1997 and 2009 – have reduced their spending to cope with the cost of living, compared to only 59% of Baby Boomers. Likewise, 70% of Generation Z also admitted to feeling financially stressed due to inflation, while only 29% of Baby Boomers felt the same way.

Earlier this month, an interim report from a Senate inquiry investigating poverty in Australia released detailed evidence of welfare payments being insufficient to meet the cost of essential items, including menstrual health products. The inquiry heard evidence of “dehumanising poverty”, including women using rags because they could not afford pads or tampons.

Wherever there is poverty, there is period poverty, and this can have profound and lifelong impacts on adolescent girls’ lives: it can prevent them from going to school and deny them an education; stop them from playing sports; significantly affect their mental health and wellbeing; impact their employment; and prevent them from accessing basic necessities such as food or electricity.

In April 2023, Plan International Australia (PIA) commissioned YouGov to collect data on the cost of living crisis and period poverty amongst 500 Australian people who menstruate, in both city and regional areas, aged 18-42. PIA designed the survey together with Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights experts; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) professionals; and Gender in Emergencies specialists.

This Australian data forms part of a wider, global report and builds on PIA’s previous research into how people managed their periods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We asked our Plan International Australia youth activists to validate and respond to the findings in the A Tough Period report.

As a result of the cost of living crisis, young people are using cheaper menstrual health products, changing them less often, and sometimes, going without products at all. This is having a significant impact on young people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In the Gen Z cohort surveyed, 15% said they were entirely dependent on donated period products from university student services or local charities to manage their menstruation. Others said they were reliant on parents or family members to purchase products for them.

The youth activists spoke strongly about the need for menstrual products to be free for people of all gender identities who menstruate, and how LGBTIQ+ people may experience additional barriers to accessing menstrual health products, with negative impacts on their mental health.

They also noted that migrants and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities faced additional barriers to managing their periods safely, affordably and without shame. Worryingly, young people – particularly students – from these communities highlighted in our focus group research that a lack of access to free healthcare, coupled with cost of living pressures, meant they were unable to afford to see a doctor to treat endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome or other sexual and reproductive health concerns.  

For First Nations young women, girls and gender diverse young people living in remote communities, the costs of menstrual health products are significantly higher than elsewhere. A packet of pads is reported to cost on average $10-15, and national charity Share the Dignity reports that remoteness can increase the cost of menstrual health products by 100%. There is also limited access to pain relief, and underwear and reusable menstrual products are often either not available, or also very expensive.

For First Nations people who menstruate, the cost-of-living crisis is amplified by more systemic barriers that impact the ability to access menstrual health products and pain management.

Lack of sufficient access to working taps, toilets, showers and bathrooms – all things that are essential to good menstrual health management – is also a critical issue facing First Nations people who menstruate in remote communities.

There is also a lack of appropriate and women/gender diverse friendly bathrooms in schools. It is reported that First Nations girls may miss school when on their periods, as they feel more comfortable changing their pads or tampons at home, or they may miss school due to embarrassment at having to use unhygienic alternatives because menstrual hygiene products are unaffordable.

For First Nations girls, young women and gender diverse young people, providing free or subsidised menstrual products is critical, but more systemic challenges need to be addressed, including lack of access to improved water and sanitation facilities and supporting menstrual health programs that are led and designed by First Nations community organisations.  

Plan International Australia is currently distributing dignity kits to communities in need all around the world. A Dignity Kit has all of the essentials people who menstruate need to manage their periods during a crises, from the global hunger crisis, to conflict settings and climate disasters. The kit includes menstrual pads, body soap, washing soap for clothes, toothbrushes, shampoo and toilet paper. You can pay it forward and purchase a dignity kit, which will help a girl manage her period.

The rising costs of food, energy, healthcare and accommodation around the world have hit individuals, families and communities, pushing many into difficult decisions. For some, this means prioritising necessities over luxuries. For countless others, this means choosing between necessities – including menstrual hygiene products. 

In over one-third of countries globally, the cost of living crisis has been exacerbated by conflict, political instability, climate change and acute food insecurity, culminating in a so-called “poly-crisis” and forcing almost 350 million people to flee from their homes.

For adolescent girls, young women and others who menstruate, the resulting loss of security and reduced access to water, income-generating opportunities, education, healthcare and other essential services compounds, and is compounded by, a hidden menstrual health crisis.

Drawing on data from 168 specialists across 44 Plan International country offices and four regional hubs, the global A Tough Period report highlights the impacts around the world of the current poly-crisis on the ability of adolescent girls, young women and others who menstruate to pay for menstrual health products (such as sanitary pads) and to access water to stay clean during their periods.