Background

In September of 2019, a then-undergraduate student, Hayley Newman-Petryshen, approached LSPIRG with an idea about something she thought needed to change at Laurier. Hayley said that her and her peers found accessing menstrual products on campus to be very difficult and, in the one place they knew they could purchase products, they were very expensive. Since working with students striving for social justice is what LSPIRG is all about, we worked with Hayley to conduct research aimed at exploring menstruators’ experiences at Laurier in order to help inform the next steps in our education and advocacy work.

Purpose

The purpose of this survey was to provide insight into peoples’ experiences with menstruation on campus, with a particular focus on access to menstrual care products. The information gathered is used to inform LSPIRG’s educational programming and advocacy efforts on campus.

Methods

In 2019, LSPIRG conducted a survey of people who use Laurier washrooms, i.e. students, staff and faculty. People of all genders and from all campuses were eligible to complete this survey. This study collected both qualitative and quantitative data. This survey was widely circulated across various in-person and online avenues, intentionally reaching out to folks from Waterloo, Brantford and Kitchener. Informed consent was given by all participants and all data was anonymous and de-identified if applicable.

Results

There were 379 survey respondents. Below are our most significant quantitative statistics, and a few qualitative anecdotes woven in. Respondents shared so much with us and while they are all so valuable, we could not share them all here.

“There is an over priced machine in the concourse otherwise [products are available] NO WHERE. Cheaper to stain my underwear and walk home.”

— Cisgender woman, Waterloo student

38% of respondents struggle to buy the menstrual products they need.

• 3% struggle very much and 35% struggle somewhat

• 75% (6) of nonbinary respondents struggle at least somewhat and 80% (5) who responded with ‘prefer not to answer’ or ‘not listed’ when asked about their gender identity struggle at least somewhat

• Broken down by campus, 37.2% of Waterloo respondents, 38.8% of Brantford respondents and 66.7% of Kitchener respondents struggle at least somewhat

“We don’t have any locations that would have them to use or even purchase. ”

— Cisgender woman, Brantford student

77.1% of respondents have been on campus and begun menstruating without having adequate supplies with them.

• 77.2% of respondents who identified as cisgender women, 100% (2) of respondents who identified as transgender men and 87.5% (11) respondents who identified as non-binary begun menstruating on campus without supplies

• 80% (4) of respondents who responded with ‘prefer not to answer’ and 100% (2) who responded that their gender was ‘not listed’ begun menstruating on campus without supplies

“It sucked- the tampons are all the same size at the Wellness Centre so I ended up leaking in no time. I also ended up having a panic attack cause the bathroom is so close to the offices and I could hear people talking the whole time I was in there.”

— Gender non-conforming Waterloo student

95.6% of respondents would feel positively about Laurier providing free menstrual products in all washrooms on campus.

• 14.8% would feel ‘positively’, 80.8% would feel ‘very positively’

Respondents who identified as genders other than cisgender were asked which of the following would improve their experience menstruating in gendered "men's" washrooms, though not all necessarily use those washrooms:

• 92.3% (12) checked ‘info on where to access support if you experience harassment’

• 84.6% (11) checked ‘disposal bins in stalls’

• 76.9% (10) checked ‘signage educating people in the washrooms that not just cisgender women menstruate’

• 69.2% (9) checked ‘dispensers with free tampons and pads’

Recommendations

The following recommendations were drawn from this research:

1. There needs to be better communication about where menstrual products are currently available, especially the free products.

2. Laurier should provide free menstrual products in all washrooms across all campuses, just as they do toilet paper.

3. Particular care should be given to reaching marginalized students, who are more affected by period poverty.

4. There should be some reusable period products available, as many as possible.

5. Various organizations and departments should better collaborate on achieving these goals.

Progress Report

As of Winter Term of 2022, the following progress has been made on the above recommendations:

1. LSPIRG, CSEDI and the GSA created educational posters about menstrual equity and where to access products on campus, and we created a Menstrual Equity page on our website to circulate the campaign.

2. Phase 1 of providing period products has been passed, funded and implemented: A 16-month period of free pads and tampons in 14 washrooms across Waterloo, Brantford and Kitchener. More advocacy is needed to secure future roll out so all WLU washrooms provide products.

3. Trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming folks have been prioritized by installed dispensers in all gendered washrooms and putting the ones in gendered men’s washrooms in accessible stalls to increase safety. Intentional promotion to CSEDI and the Indigenous Student Centre allow for students accessing those spaces to be informed.

4. LSPIRG secured funding from the Sustainable Hawk Fund to purchase hundreds of menstrual cups and reusable pads and distributed them throughout 2020 and 2021 through the Free Weekly Distro and Students’ Union Food Bank across campuses. However, LSPIRG is currently advocating for permanent partnerships and funding to provide reusable period products on an ongoing basis.

5. LSPIRG created and chaired a Menstrual Equity Committee and collaborated on strategizing how to achieve menstrual equity at Laurier.

A huge thank you to all of the participants and researchers who made this study possible, which greatly informed our advocacy as we work to achieve menstrual equity at Laurier.

If you have any questions or comments about our research or advocacy, feel free to reach out to info@lspirg.org.

Click the image above to read the full 2023 Report: Mapping Menstrual Equity at Laurier,
Author Hayley Newman-Petryshen (Laurier BA, 2021).

Menstrual Equity at Laurier

We all deserve equitable access to the menstrual care products we need to be present and comfortable in life. Just like toilet paper and soap, menstrual products should be free in all public washrooms. In acknowledgement of this, as of Winter 2022, Laurier students and staff have access to free menstrual care products in some washrooms in Waterloo, Brantford campuses and Kitchener. 

• Over 77% of Laurier students and staff who menstruate have been caught on campus without the menstrual care products they need (LSPIRG Musing About Menstruation survey, 2019)

In addition to ensuring that menstruating staff and students feel fully included on Laurier campuses, this project will also help address period poverty–the lack of access to menstrual care products as a result of financial barriers experienced by Laurier students and staff.

• 38% of Laurier students and staff struggle to afford the menstrual care products they need (LSPIRG, 2019)

This initiative is the product of years of dedicated menstrual equity advocacy championed by LSPIRG in partnership with the Sustainability Office, Facilities and Asset Management, the Centre for Student Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, the Graduate Students’ Association, and the Students’ Union and through participation by current students, staff, and alumni. Funding for the first 16 months of this project was unanimously supported by members of the Student Affairs Advisory Committee and the project is being managed by Facilities and Asset Management.

Laurier Menstrual Equity Survey

Hundreds of you participated in an online research study that is being conducted by Eden Hennessey, a researcher at Wilfrid Laurier University and Hayley Newman-Petryshen, a previous LSPIRG Board Member and now Research Associate at McGill University.

The purpose of this study is to gain insight on a project supporting Menstrual Equity (i.e., the affordability, accessibility, and safety of menstrual products) at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Data from this voluntary survey will be instrumental in guiding institutional decision-making related to Menstrual Equity at Wilfrid Laurier University. This project has Research Ethics Board Approval (#REB 8601).

When the results are ready, we will share them here. Stay tuned!

Need menstrual care products?

Here is where you can find pads and tampons on campus!

Waterloo Washrooms

• Science Building (washroom across from Dean’s office, gendered women’s washroom)

• Library (main floor, gender-neutral)

• Martin Luther University College (main floor, gender-neutral)

• Fred Nichols Campus Centre (second floor in 24 Lounge by vending machines, gender-neutral)

• Bricker Academic Building (first floor, gendered women’s and men’s)

• Arts Building (second floor, gender-neutral)

• Peters Building (first floor by Frank’s Coffee Haus, gender-neutral)

• Lazaridis (first floor, gendered women’s and gender-neutral)

• Athletic Complex (downstairs in Kinesiology Hallway, gender-neutral)

Brantford Washrooms

• Grand River Hall (basement, gendered women’s and men’s)

• One Market (near lounge area, gender-neutral)

• RAC West (basement, gendered women’s and men’s)

• Student Centre (first floor, gendered women’s and men’s)

Kitchener Washrooms

• Faculty of Social Work (second floor, gender-neutral)

Please note that dispensers in gendered “men’s” washrooms are in the accessible stalls.

Other ways to access free menstrual products on campus:

• Our Free Weekly Distro program run by LSPIRG, Luther and Wellness Education

• The LSPIRG offices

• Some Laurier departments including: Wellness Education, the Indigenous Student Centres, Centre for Student Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

• The Laurier Food Bank run by the Students’ Union (request some in your next parcel)

While there are these options on campus, you deserve to be able to walk into any washroom to get what you need, just like toilet paper. LSPIRG will continue to advocate until all washrooms on all WLU campuses have period products. We are also working on providing more options of products, both disposable and reusable.

Access to menstrual care products is a right, not a luxury. Period.

Rattled by seeing these stained panties? You’re not alone.

For many of us, periods are a natural, uncontrollable part of life. And yet menstrual blood is often treated as cringier than a gory scene in a movie. We aren’t used to seeing images like this because society actively hides them.

TV commercials depict mysterious, transparent blue liquid on pads and avoid the words “period” or “blood” by saying things like “time of the month.” As menstruators, we are taught to shroud our periods in shame and secrecy: We thoroughly wrap a bloodied tampon applicator in toilet paper before putting it in a waste bin or discreetly smuggle tampons from knapsacks to pockets.

There’s nothing wrong with menstrual bleeding. There’s nothing shameful about asking for a period product, leaking onto your underwear, or menstruating during sex.

Read the infographic our volunteers crafted called '“All About Period Sex”

Myth: Only women get periods.

Fact: People of many genders can have periods.  Some cisgender women don’t have periods (e.g. menopause, health reasons) and some trans and non-binary folks do have periods. 

Everyone deserves to be able to access the menstrual products they need, which means menstrual products (note: we aren’t calling them ‘feminine hygiene products’!) should not only be available in femme spaces or “women’s” washrooms. 

Another barrier to access is that the (in)affordability of menstrual care products disproportionately impacts trans and non-binary folks, who are more likely to be living in poverty.

• 75% of trans and non-binary students and staff struggle to afford menstrual care products, compared to the average of 38% for all students and staff. (LSPIRG, 2019)

Plus, products that look stereotypically feminine don’t work for everyone. Period stigma is even greater for trans and non-binary folks than cis folks --as their experiences can be complexified by transphobia and gender dysphoria. That’s why options like boxer brief period underwear and gender-neutral menstrual cup pouches  are so important!

It’s impossible to tell by looking at someone if they menstruate, so don’t make assumptions. Resist the cis-tem. We stand with menstruators of all genders and you should too.

It should be no surprise that disposable pads and tampons harm the environment:

• The average menstruator throws away 250-300 pounds of pads, tampons, and applicators in their lifetime

• Every disposable pad and tampon ever used is still sitting in a landfill somewhere

• Up to 90% of a disposable menstrual pad is composed of plastic (and plastic is made from oil!)

Thankfully, there are TONS of options nowadays that are sustainable and affordable. For example, cardboard applicators are much less wasteful than plastic ones. But better yet, there are products you buy once and use for years.

Zero waste options that save money in the long run:

• Menstrual underwear (looks like normal underwear styles yet holds up to two tampons worth of blood)

• Menstrual cups (silicone cup inserted for up to 10 hours and can last many years)

• Reusable pads (pads that come in all kinds of absorbency, shapes and lovely designs that get rinsed and machine-washed)

There are also products that are partially reusable and partially disposable such as a reusable tampon applicator.

There are lots of reasons people may use disposable menstrual products. Maybe it’s due to accessibility or perhaps you can’t afford the initial investment -- that’s not your fault and we can’t blame and shame folks. However, it’s possible to have a plastic-free period and it’s important to try to reduce your waste if you can.

Bleed red, go green.

We need to remember that people of all levels of income and security may menstruate, including homeless folks.  Living in period poverty can contribute to feelings of shame, create lost opportunities, cause people to miss meals, and create health risks. These negative consequences are also more common for Black, Indigenous and Racialized people. In order to strive for equity, we need to support those who are in need most. This is part of the reason that many Laurier offices that support marginalized students offer free menstrual products. Striving for menstrual equity means that we need to simultaneously work to end all forms of oppression including racism, colonialism, sexism, cissexism, ableism and queerphobia.

Do you have questions, comments or suggestions on menstrual equity at Laurier?

Feel free to reach out to us at info@lspirg.org