Stand for Women's Health
Donation protected
Stand for Women's Health
With 15 percent of U.S. girls starting their periods at age seven, and thousands of girls, women and people who menstruate, needing to choose between purchasing menstrual products or purchasing food, we are working to:
*Ensure tampons and pads are freely available in schools, shelters and prisons.
*Eliminate the "tampon tax"--exempting menstrual products from sales tax.
*Reclassify menstrual products as "medically necessary" so they are available for purchase using dedicated pre-tax dollars, like other "medically necessary" items (Viagra, Rogaine, sunscreen, Band-Aids).
Gifted funds will be used to:
*Organize peaceful stands in Utah and across the country to bring legislative attention to these issues
*Support National Period Day rallies
*Ask congress to have the IRS reclassify menstrual products as "medically necessary"
*Work with legislature to ensure schools, prisons and shelters provide access to free menstrual products
Background:
35 US States have a sales tax on period products considering them non-essential items, 25 states have banned such a tax. One in four women struggle to afford period products due to a lack of income. In the first city-wide study on period poverty, it was found that 46% of low-income women had to choose between a meal and period products.
Because menstruation is still a taboo topic, we don’t often think about what it’s like for the daughter of a low-income person to have a period. Or a person who is homeless to have a period. And we don’t have open conversations about period health or solutions to period poverty.
But unlike some poverty-related issues, this one is solvable.
Stand for Women's Health is working with National Period Day to elevate the issue of period poverty and request changes to make period products more accessible for all.
With 15 percent of U.S. girls starting their periods at age seven, and thousands of girls, women and people who menstruate, needing to choose between purchasing menstrual products or purchasing food, we are working to:
*Ensure tampons and pads are freely available in schools, shelters and prisons.
*Eliminate the "tampon tax"--exempting menstrual products from sales tax.
*Reclassify menstrual products as "medically necessary" so they are available for purchase using dedicated pre-tax dollars, like other "medically necessary" items (Viagra, Rogaine, sunscreen, Band-Aids).
Gifted funds will be used to:
*Organize peaceful stands in Utah and across the country to bring legislative attention to these issues
*Support National Period Day rallies
*Ask congress to have the IRS reclassify menstrual products as "medically necessary"
*Work with legislature to ensure schools, prisons and shelters provide access to free menstrual products
Background:
35 US States have a sales tax on period products considering them non-essential items, 25 states have banned such a tax. One in four women struggle to afford period products due to a lack of income. In the first city-wide study on period poverty, it was found that 46% of low-income women had to choose between a meal and period products.
Because menstruation is still a taboo topic, we don’t often think about what it’s like for the daughter of a low-income person to have a period. Or a person who is homeless to have a period. And we don’t have open conversations about period health or solutions to period poverty.
But unlike some poverty-related issues, this one is solvable.
Stand for Women's Health is working with National Period Day to elevate the issue of period poverty and request changes to make period products more accessible for all.
Organizer
Emily McCormick
Organizer
Salt Lake City, UT
