Access to a safe, affordable and adequate supply of menstrual products is a necessity for all menstruators on campus. However, even with a large proportion of the student body in the Faculty of Engineering being women or experiencing menstruation, most washrooms in our buildings are not equipped with dispensers for sanitary napkins or tampons. Among those that are, the dispensers are rarely re-filled regularly enough to be of help. Considering that most graduate students spend anywhere between 6-18 hours on campus, this lack of access to basic hygiene resources leaves menstruating students at a significant disadvantage over their non-menstruating counterparts.
Products for sexual, personal and pandemic-related hygiene have never been difficult to find on campus. Be it condoms from Healthy McGill, toilet paper in our washroom stalls or masks and sanitizers in most buildings, the importance of these products has never been questioned and their availibility to date never compromised. However, provision of menstrual products on campus has not been seen with the same fervour. The ‘Menstrual Hygiene Project’ by SSMU in 2017 was one of the few projects on campus that recognized this scarcity of menstrual products and sought to provide them for free in certain buildings and offices around campus. There is, however, a need for the university to scale up these efforts and ensure students in all buildings have access to these basic supplies. What would qualify as successful implementation of menstrual equity initiatives? First and foremost, access. Ensuring the placement and regular refills of dispensers in women’s and gender neutral washrooms in every building on campus is a priority.* Running home or to the nearest pharmacy to grab a sanitary napkin is not a welcome addition to any hectic school day. Second, sanitary products on campus must be affordable or better yet, free. Menstrual products can be one of the top three material expenses for menstruators in the country. Moreover, one-third of menstruators under the age of 25 cannot afford menstrual products. Products on-campus should aim at relieving this financial strain that students face rather than adding on to it. Third, a choice between sanitary napkins or tampons must be provided in all dispensers because the needs of each menstruator are unique and need to be met sufficiently. Lastly, we need to destigmatize conversations around menstruation on campus and ensure that anyone whose needs are not sufficiently met, is free to come forward and speak out their concerns. While a lack of menstrual equity on campus and in public spaces has always negatively impacted the lives of menstrutators, the pandemic has only made this situation worse. If there is a time to implement a program like this, it is now.
GEEC is currently advocating for menstrual equity on campus. Help us collect data and express your experiences in our anonymous menstrual equity survey.
* The data concerning the number of trans men who menstruate in the faculty is unknown. However, we recognize the need for the provision of sanitary products across the gender spectrum and in bathrooms that can be comfortably accessed by all.