Mass. one bill away from ending period poverty, ensuring menstrual equity in public bathrooms
Medford Transcript, March 2022
The consensus: It’s past time to eradicate, at least in Massachusetts, period poverty and the inequity of having fully half the state’s population wonder if their bodily functions will be met when they visit a public restroom.
It's time to "Free the Pad," the menstrual pad.
To that end the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill presented and sponsored by Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen (D-Second Middlesex) earlier this month that would require the state to provide menstrual products free of charge in all schools, shelters and correctional institutions around the state.
It’s only taken two years.
Now it’s up to the state House of Representatives where Rep. Christine Barber (D-34 Middlesex) has two similar bills poised for action, at least one needs to pass for the measure to become law.
“We don’t have a timeframe as we continue to build support to try to get the bill through,” Barber said, explaining it takes people talking about the issue to get it passed. “There are a lot of young people across the state organizing around this issue.”
People like Medford High School seniors Marianna Constantara and Melina McGovern, who have championed the project to “Free the Pad,” a student project they picked from where Willa Driscoll left off when she graduated.
Citizenship & Social Responsibility
The seniors, both members of the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility club (CCSR), were gratified with the passage of Jehlen’s I AM bill.
“It’s blowing up on social media,” said McGovern, adding it still needs support.
The seniors were also happy to learn that products for menstruation will be available to all Medford students, in all city schools, as the School Committee passed a resolution ensuring it would happen.
The seniors noted menstruation products have been available for free at Medford High School for about a year. Now, however, they will also be available in middle and elementary schools as well.
To ensure the dispensers in the bathrooms are fully stocked, the girls routinely hold collection drives to collect products. The nurses’ office, they point out, can be a long walk for someone experiencing a menstrual emergency.
Medford School Committee member Paul Ruseau said it was a “nice coincidence,” that the body passed the resolution making menstrual products available, and free for the asking, in all schools throughout the city in the same week as Jehlen’s bill passed.
“It was unanimous,” Ruseau said of the School Committee vote March 7.
Starting immediately, nurses will be able to give out three items on demand. And starting May 1, users can ask for enough supplies to see them through a menstrual cycle.
Available at the nurses' offices
“This resolution doesn’t put product in the bathrooms,” Ruseau said, adding the next step is installing dispensers and that will be an ask during budget season. The district will be purchasing the products, pads and tampons, from now rather than relying on donations or having staff buy them out of pocket.
In neighboring Somerville, the campaign to ensure menstrual products were available for free in the high school was launched in 2017 under the acronym S.A.F.E.T.Y (Safely Accommodating Free Equity with Tampons Yearly). There are dispensers in all high school bathrooms and products have since been made available throughout the city at all other schools.
Volunteers, legislation lead efforts to increase access to menstrual care products
Medford School Committee member Jenny Graham has been involved in the project since Driscoll asked for her advice in pitching the idea to the School Committee before Graham was a member of the body. She remembers accessing supplies in the nurses’ office when she was a student, however, youngsters were asked to reimburse the nurses for the products.
“It’s up to us to make right by the students who are in our care,” Graham said.
One stumbling block has been the fear of vandalism and theft from dispensers once they are installed in the bathrooms. However, Graham believes they will be normalized once installed.
“The district needs to provide what children need,” Graham said.
Jehlen has credited diverse student led movements with inspiring her to sponsor the bill that passed March 3.
Normalizing menstruation
“Listening to young women talking about how it’s about not being ashamed of your body and not being embarrassed to be a woman,” Jehlen has said. “I think gradually people, and women, have become more comfortable having bodies, and this is part of that.”
The Medford students learned through their volunteer work how challenging it can be to find the funds to purchase menstrual products.
Constantara, who volunteers her time to support city-funded clinics at the Walnut Street Center for developmentally delayed adults, came face-to-face with the problem.
“The adults did not have access to pads,” Constantara said, adding she realized the products are “needs not wants.”
And the need is extensive. Through their collection efforts, the girls realize there is a widespread inaccessibility to the products.
She teamed up with McGovern to carry the “Free the Pad” standard forward. McGovern was working to collect products for homeless shelters and went to one of the CCSR advisors and asked to pick up the project.
They credit Medford entrepreneur Clare Flaherty, founder of Trove Green Provisions, for much of their success in collecting donations.
“The products are eco-friendly, and she has been super helpful when we re-stock the bathrooms,” Constantara said.
The seniors make a formidable team: they have worked with Jehlen to promote the I AM bill, testified in the Senate and worked with the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization of Women (MASS Now) to coordinate “period rallies” and bring attention to the issue.
“Our mission now is to bring products to all the bathrooms,” said Constantara. “People should not be anxious about bringing attention to the fact they have their period by having to ask to go to the nurse. It’s a private issue and there’s no need to make it public.
“People should not be stressed at school,” Constantara said, adding, at least not about anything but schoolwork.
“We are aiming to destigmatize menstrual care,” McGovern said.
