She is in all Instagram stories of the moment. Her name is Louise, goes under the “My better self” account, she wears a crown of stamps on her head and sends a wad of banknotes flying in the air. If the image has something to smile about, it actually reveals a dramatic number: in France, 1.7 million women suffer from menstrual insecurity. At a time when hygienic protections are starting to become free in various European countries (including Scotland recently), France still has some way to go.
To fight against this precariousness and help her victims, Louise uses the hashtag #StopMenstrualPrecarity, and joins forces with partners to collect hygienic protections to distribute free of charge. The Nutuus mutual, the Nana brand and the association Act for Women’s Health are partners in this project.
1 sharing, 1 box of protections
“1.7 million. This is the number of women in a menstrual precarious situation in France. Women who have to choose each month between buying a box of tampons or having enough to eat at the end of the day“, writes the young woman activist. The goal is simple: each time this image is shared in a social network story, a box of menstrual protection will be donated to the association.
The latter organizes marauding in Ile-de-France on the living quarters of women far from the health system. Slums, social hotels, streets, camps, metro, woods … It aims to cover three poles which are the medical, the psychological and the social. In addition to clothing, screening proposals are distributed hygiene kits, of which the collected hygienic protections will be part.
Finally, Louise specifies that only tampons and towels will be distributed insofar as access to water can be complicated for women affected by this precariousness. Menstrual panties or cups, known to be more ecological and economical, can therefore not be distributed, because they require too complicated a hygiene course.
Read also:
- PMS: definition, symptoms and advice
- Rules: in Scotland periodic protection becomes free for all
