By Leah Murray

Some young women struggle to afford feminine hygiene products

Jun 4, 2018 | 5:00 PM

MEDICINE HAT – Young women in Canada are struggling to afford basic necessities like feminine hygiene products.

A survey of 2,000 women 25 and younger was conducted by Plan International Canada. It shows a third of women have struggled to pay for items like pads and tampons for themselves or a dependant.

Tara Williams, a business instructor at Medicine Hat College, started a drive for feminine products at the Medicine Hat Food Bank two years ago. She said for some people talking about women’s health and reproductive systems remains a taboo topic, so issues like access to pads and tampons isn’t discussed.

Williams said when women struggle to access safe hygienic products, they can turn to less sanitary practices.

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“There’s lot of studies showing people are using toilet paper or socks, and when it gets that bad it can go down to newspaper and that’s not okay,” she said. “It’s absolutely not okay.”

Today is Menstrual Hygiene Day and we’ll be sharing some menstruation related stats. First, period poverty is real and keeps women and girls from reaching their full potential. One in 10 girls globally do not have access to menstrual hygiene products! #MHDay2018 pic.twitter.com/bZWc4bnrum

— Plan Int’l Canada (@PlanCanada) May 28, 2018

It’s a reality faced by women all over the world, including right here in Medicine Hat.

The Medicine Hat Food Bank provides feminine hygiene products to people who come in at no cost. In the past few years there’s been a real push to keep the shelves stocked.

“It’s an absolute basic need of families,” said Celina Symmonds, co-executive director of the Food Bank. “We have endeavoured to never run out.”

Symmonds says most women who come in are in need of the supplies, and says one incident has stuck with her. Symmonds described an incident when a 13-year-old girl came in with her family to get food. The family was escaping a domestic violence situation. Symmonds said the girl knew her mom was struggling to make ends meet and couldn’t afford any extras; so instead of asking for a pad or tampon, she was using toilet paper in its place.

“We couldn’t imagine if that was our own daughter who had to wrap toilet paper in [her] underwear to ensure [her] feminine hygiene needs were met,” she said.

It’s stories like this that led to Williams starting an annual fundraiser to increase awareness and donations of items like pads and tampons.

She has worked it into the business programs she teaches at the college, getting students involved in creating social media campaigns. It helps to keep the shelves of the Food Bank stocked with the necessities you wouldn’t normally think about being at a food bank.

“The Food Bank has leverage and buying power when it comes to food, but they don’t have buying power when it comes to feminine products,” Williams explained. “So, when it comes to feminine hygiene products, it’s just as good if we give them the product [versus cash].”

Williams and Symmonds agree that the only was to address issues like access to feminine hygiene products is to continue talking openly about women’s health.