Men from the Yarra Ranges have been called upon to join the fight to end period poverty for Share the Dignity’s new Bro in the Know campaign this August.
The campaign aimed to highlight that period poverty isn’t just a women’s issue – it is also the responsibility of men to understand and support those who menstruate in order to remove the age-old stigma and shame associated with it.
Share The Dignity founder and managing director Rochelle Courtenay said men needed to draw upon their own empathy in order to realise the struggles women face surrounding accessing period products.
“I don’t think that there is a man or a boy who wouldn’t feel empathetic to understanding that his wife or his mother or his sister or his daughter would be facing period poverty,” Ms Courtenay said.
She said the current stigma and shame surrounding menstruation was due to there not being a space to facilitate the conversation in the past.
“It’s the fact that these blokes don’t know that this is a problem because we’ve never openly talked about it.”
The campaign occurred alongside Dignity Drive, a partnership between Woolworths and Share the Dignity which calls on shoppers to add unopened packets of tampons, pads, period undies and reusable period products to their trolley and donate them at their local collection point.
In the Yarra Ranges, 56 per cent of women, girls and those who menstruate missed work due to their period, while 65 per cent missed out on sport.
The findings came from Share the Dignity’s 2024 Bloody Big Survey and it outlined how commonplace this issue was for women, girls and those who menstruate in the Yarra Ranges.
And with one in five having reported experiencing period poverty, it was clear men needed to be playing a role in ending period poverty too.
“We need men to stand beside us, not just in conversation, but in action,” Ms Courtenay said.
In the various communities throughout the Yarra Ranges, football, netball and other sporting clubs have a strong presence and influence.
Ms Courtenay said it was vital the men involved in these clubs were educated about being around girls and women who’ve got their periods while also ensuring the clubs provided period products for those who need it.
“We’re trying to make sure that in Australia, wherever there is sport played, that there is access to period products, they should be in every coach’s bag.”
At the Yarra Centre, new period product dispensers were just installed as part of the State Government’s free pads and tampons program.
The program had already saved women, girls and those who menstruate thousands of dollars, while offering assurance to those who might’ve forgotten to bring their own period products.
“Whether it’s donating period products, sharing our message or supporting the people they care about, men have a crucial role to play in ensuring menstrual equity,” Ms Courtenay said.
