Ministers call for effort in addressing period stigma
The Period Poverty Solution Petition: The Health and
Wellbeing Implications was presented by the Positive
Periods campaign team, of which The Period Place is a part
of, at a cross-party breakfast, thanks to Louisa Wall MP and
Joanne Hayes MP in Parliament yesterday.
Members from Labour and National acknowledged the current lack of quality menstrual education for all genders in schools, and the barriers to accessing products equitably as two of the most pressing issues for tamariki in Aotearoa.
“What we heard from Government is that they not only agree with us at The Period Place about the importance of these issues, but they also agree that change needs to start at a Government level for it to truly have an impact” says Danika Revell, co-founder of The Period Place.
The Minister for Women, Hon JulieAnn Genter and Hon Louise Upston both shared their support of The Period Place, especially in the work leading national period conversations, like the formation and governance of the first National Period Industry Hui. They both spoke of the importance of working with the charity on data gathering and solutions for period poverty in Aotearoa.
“The mahi from the hui will absolutely help
inform directions the Government can take, in everything
from the conversations that need to be had, to education and
access.” said Sarah Mikkelsen, co-founder of The Period
Place. “We know that there is an inter-Ministry group of
people discussing periods with a view to changing discourse
and improving lives through interventions. We are working to
be a part of that group, feeding in the knowledge from the
hui, and working to ensure the information, ideas and action
ideas from the experts who were at the hui is being
progressed”.