ADVOCATE
Never cease to act because you fear you may fail.
Stand for what you believe in.
Are period products essential?
If you answered yes, then you understand how debilitating it is to be without. Yet, 1 in 4 menstruators experience period poverty and face the choice of whether to feed themselves and their children or buy pads every month. Many end up using cloth, rags, tissues, toilet paper or socks, which poses physical health risks linked to reproductive and urinary tract infections. Some have even resorted to giving up their food stamps in exchange for cash to buy sanitary products.
In spite of this, public assistance programs like SNAP and WIC do not deem period products as necessary, and they are excluded under a list alongside alcohol, cigarettes and Red Bull — yet 2014 legislation later allowed individuals to use SNAP benefits to buy ice cream, lobster and Coke.
Food insecurity and period poverty go hand in hand and period poverty, affecting people of all genders, races and backgrounds. It’s time to stop treating menstruation as a “luxury” and start acknowledging sanitary products as a basic human need.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program funded through the USDA and provided at the state level by Hawai’i’s Department of Human Services. The program is intended to provide food and nutritional support to qualifying low-income and needy households using payments processed through the Hawai’i Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federal program funded through the USDA aimed at serving low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who meet income guidelines and have a medical or nutritional risk.
THE LAW
HAWAIʻI PUBLIC & CHARTER SCHOOLS
On June 20, 2022, Gov. David Ige signed SB2821 into law, effective July 1, 2022, requiring the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education to provide menstrual products to all students, free of charge, on all public school campuses, including public charter schools, and $2 million was allocated for this fiscal year.
2023
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI
In 2023, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature adopted SR23, urging the University of Hawaiʻi system to provide free menstrual products to students at all of its university, community college, and education center campuses. This measure reflects a growing recognition that menstrual equity is essential to ensuring every student can fully participate in their education.
2024
EQUITY OF ACCESS TO
PUBLIC FACILITIES
The Hawaiʻi State Legislature allocated $400,000 in the state budget to make period products free in public buildings managed by the Department of Accounting and General Services. It was a meaningful win for menstrual equity statewide.
Since 2023, we have been running pilot programs in county parks, libraries, and courthouses, helping to lay the groundwork for this expanded access across our community.
2026
STANDARD AND COMPREHENSIVE MENSTRUAL EDUCATION
This year, we’re partnering with Joelle and Leila of MĚI for Hawaii, graduates of Moanalua High School and McKinley High School, on policy efforts urging the DOE to adopt a more comprehensive menstrual health curriculum. MĚI, the Menstrual Equity Initiative, a youth-led advocacy initiative, dedicated to advancing menstrual equity through policymaking, research, community engagement, and visual media.
