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Period Poverty in Brazil: Only 50% of Women Have Access to Sanitary Pads

Diana, January 5, 2023

When you think of Brazil 🇧🇷, what comes to mind?

But do you know how difficult it is to live in Brazil as a woman?

In Brazil, millions of poor women struggle to obtain or are unable to access menstrual hygiene products during their periods.

The Current Situation of Period Poverty in Brazil

Menstrual health is crucial to women's health. Access to menstrual products and safe sanitary facilities is a right for every girl and woman.

Globally, 1.8 billion women are experiencing menstruation, with over 500 million women unable to access menstrual products normally. Period poverty has become a global issue, and Brazil, as the world's seventh-largest economy and a BRICS nation, is no exception.

Image Source 2: USA Today | Difficulty in Accessing Menstrual Products

Menstrual poverty is one of the major social issues in Brazil, with 26% of Brazilian adolescents aged 15 to 17 unable to access appropriate menstrual products, and 50% of women have to use toilet paper, cotton, fabric scraps, diapers, bread, and other materials to get through their periods.

"Sanitary pads are expensive, so we use a piece of cloth, a pillowcase, a diaper, whatever we can."

"Whenever my son's diaper broke, I thought, 'Oh, I'll use it as a sanitary pad.'"

"To afford tampons, we have to buy them when they are on sale."

Image Source 3: AFP | 39-year-old Vanessa Moraes from the massive "slum" on the north side of Rio de Janeiro shows how she uses diapers and towels as substitutes for sanitary pads

According to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), about 4 million girls in the country do not attend school during their periods.

A survey conducted by Always Brazil showed that 28% of women miss school because they cannot afford tampons, with 48% of women concealing the reason for their absence. The study also estimated that students could miss up to 45 days of school a year due to menstrual poverty [1].

Image Source 4: DW | Many female students in Brazil do not go to school during their menstruation

In Brazil, not only is access to menstrual products a problem, but women also have limited or no access to sanitary facilities. About 39% of schools lack hand-washing facilities, directly affecting girls' education. During menstruation, girls need bathrooms to change tampons or pads and wash their hands. Outside of school, about 5 million Brazilians live without adequate bathroom facilities.

High taxes exacerbate the already dire situation. In São Paulo, taxes account for up to 34% of the price of menstrual products [2].

The Brazilian Government and Menstrual Poverty

Menstrual poverty affects countless women. It is not only a potential health risk—it also impacts women's education, welfare, and even their entire lives.

Therefore, a new bill was approved by the Brazilian Federal Senate on September 14, 2021. The bill aims to secure menstrual hygiene rights by distributing free sanitary pads to low-income public school students, homeless women, women in extreme social vulnerability, adult female prisoners, and minors in detention centers, benefiting 5.6 million Brazilian women aged 12 to 51[3].

Image Source 5: CTV News | Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro

However, on October 6, 2021, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed a bill that would have provided millions of women with free tampons, citing a lack of funding and it not being a government priority. This sparked widespread dissatisfaction, and he was accused of misogyny [4].

Image Source 6: Twitter | One of the co-drafters of the bill, Brazilian federal representative Tabata Amaral posts on Twitter

"We will not let Bolsonaro's inhumanity and machismo decide the reality of 6 million Brazilian women suffering humiliation due to a lack of sanitary products."

One of the bill's proponents, Tabata Amaral, a member of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), criticized Bolsonaro for disregarding the dignity of vulnerable women: "Bolsonaro claims that this program harms the public interest, but what really harms the public interest is forcing girls to miss school for six weeks a year just because they are menstruating."

Image Source 7: Associated Press | Brazilian President vetoes the free sanitary pad bill, sparking protest waves

Singer Juliette, with 3.9 million followers on Twitter, promoted the bill.

"If women cannot access menstrual products during their periods, then they also cannot access healthcare and education. The presidential veto must be overturned. Brazil must take menstrual issues seriously."

Brazilian singer Preta Gil on IG:

"In which century are we living? Why do we have to fight for something so obvious? Women are disrespected again. The issue of menstrual poverty has existed in our country for many years."

Activists also launched online campaigns like #LivreParaMenstruar (Free to Menstruate) to distribute free sanitary pads in public schools and organized street protests in many cities, including Paris, where activists tied dozens of sanitary pads to the Brazilian embassy with red protest words to call for international attention [3].

Image Source 8: The Guardian | Activists in São Paulo demand President Bolsonaro revoke his veto of the free sanitary pad decision on International Women's Day

A previously little-debated issue has begun to attract national attention and the focus of many politicians.

Acting to Eliminate Menstrual Poverty

A Brazilian Youth and Girl Up

Image Source 9: Girl Up Brazil | 19-year-old Helena Branco with menstrual products donated to low-income communities

A Brazilian youth is taking action to address menstrual poverty in Brazil. Helena Branco, an 18-year-old Brazilian girl, is a member of Girl Up, a global gender equality movement initiated by the United Nations Foundation.

The team launched the #AbsorventeUrgente (#UrgentPads) campaign to encourage local communities to donate menstrual products to organizations supporting vulnerable groups during COVID-19.

A total of 16 gender equality clubs led by girls from seven different states in Brazil participated in this initiative. Through this campaign, the team successfully distributed over 60,000 menstrual products, directly impacting more than 3,000 people [2].

Image Source 11: Girl Up Brazil | Fundraising event for sanitary pads

Lei 8924/2020

Girl Up activists also contacted Rio de Janeiro state senator Renan Ferreirinha to advocate including tampons in cestas básicas (a basket of basic goods provided by the government to low-income populations). Soon, the government started drafting a successful bill from scratch. Lei 8924/2020 became the first legislation in Brazil to fight menstrual poverty.

One by One

One by One is a non-governmental charity organization that provides equipment such as wheelchairs to poor disabled people and their families, as well as food and basic supplies—including menstrual products.

Livres para Estudar

After learning about the situation of students missing school due to menstruation, Marcelle Persant led the Livres para Estudar (Free to Study) project. The project's initiatives include distributing menstrual products; holding self-love workshops, conducting menstrual education; and mobilizing students to participate in leadership activities in their communities to address menstrual poverty.

We Can Do More

Image Source 14: Period-Poverty-and-Girls-Education | The poorest 5% of Brazilian women need to work continuously for four years to pay for the sanitary pads they need in their lifetime

We have seen the plight of half of Brazil's female population. Fortunately, the government and organizations are working hard to help their mothers, wives, and daughters.

Image Source 15: DW research | Regions globally providing free sanitary pads (as of October 18, 2021)

Globally, countless women suffer from menstrual poverty, but the number of countries and regions offering free menstrual products is still very low.

However, it is encouraging that this number is gradually increasing, and people are continuously making efforts to build a more friendly living environment for women!