A Vision for Menstrual Justice in Australia

The Menstruation, Law, and Justice Symposium in Sydney, Australia made important policy proposals for menstrual justice in 2023. The scholars, activists, and policy makers who wrote it include Our Bodies Ourselves content expert Margaret E. Johnson.

The recommendations call for public awareness and access. To achieve menstrual justice and bodily autonomy, we need to create environments that are free of stigma, discrimination, and harassment. We must provide access to private sanitation facilities and period products. Workplaces should offer paid menstrual leave and allow flexibility during the workday. Teachers, prison and hospital staff need training and menstrual health. This education has to be culturally relevant, as well accessible and inclusive of people with disabilities.

New laws in some Australian jurisdictions that provide for free period products in schools and eradicate the so-called tampon tax are important. These reforms can remove cost and access barriers to gender equality by permitting low-barrier or no-barrier access to necessary items for managing one’s period. And while these new laws and policies are important, more reform is necessary to address the broad-scale issues of stigma, disadvantage and violence faced by some menstruators.

SOURCE: University of Technology Sydney • AUTHOR: Mike Armour, Dani J. Barrington, Helen Connolly, Beth Goldblatt, Elizabeth Hill, Danielle Howe, Margaret E. Johnson, Minnie King, Nina Lansbury, Meredith Nash, Linda Steele, Jane Ussher