Periods are a fact of life. They aren’t something that we can change, and yet, there is a stigma attached to periods, but approximately 300 million women are having one right now. That means that one in seven women you speak to at any given time is menstruating – all around the world.
In many parts of the world, girls feel embarrassed or ashamed when they’re having periods, are not fully aware or confident in managing their periods safely and hygienically; and even miss out on vital education because of them. Periods can stop girls living normal lives.
At Initial, we are not only one of the leading providers of hygiene solutions, but also care about initiatives that help to promote better hygiene standards globally.
It’s time to take action
We are pleased to be supporting Menstrual Hygiene Day, a global advocacy platform, initiated by the German non-profit organisation WASH United in 2013, to promote good menstrual hygiene standards for all women and girls.
Their mission is to:
- Break the silence and remove the stigma attached to menstruation and raise awareness.
- Engage decision-makers to increase the political priority and propel action for menstrual hygiene management at national and international levels.
17% of women skip important activities out of fear their periods will be “found out”.
The focused theme for this year is “It’s time for action” to ensure girls and women don’t feel limited by their periods. This theme also focuses on managing menstrual hygiene education.
Download our free school toolkit
It’s time to take action and help girls the world over by empowering them to believe that their lives don’t stop just because they’re on their periods.
It’s up to us as adults to be responsible for teaching the next generation of women about periods and how to manage them safely and hygienically.
No girl should feel that they’re not able to ask for help and advice when they’re having their period. Education starts with us, so as school teachers and nurses, let’s do what we can to stop the stigma and generate understanding. Let’s give girls the confidence to not be held back by their periods
We’ve created this toolkit to help you get started on raising awareness and educating your pupils – both girls and boys alike – with bite-sized tips and creative visualisations about periods and safe, effective menstrual hygiene.
What’s in this toolkit?
This toolkit contains an interesting range of downloadable and printable assets, such as handouts, leaflets and posters for you to circulate in pupils’ washrooms, classrooms and staff rooms. Here’s a bit more detail about each of the assets:
Handout: Tips for getting through your period at school
This is a short, informative handout containing tips to guide girls on what they could do when they find that they’re on their period while at school, e.g. carrying sanitary products with them, disposing them in the sanitary waste bins provided, washing their hands after using the toilet, etc.
Leaflet: 6 myth-busters about periods
This leaflet spells out what’s true and what isn’t when it comes to periods and menstrual hygiene and has been created with girls in mind.
Myth-buster poster (for girls’ washrooms)
This poster has specifically been created to be used in girls’ washrooms and separates the facts from myths, while encouraging girls to ask for help from staff when they need it so that they can manage their periods safely and hygienically.
Myth-buster poster (for boys’ washrooms)
Created specifically with boys in mind, this poster aims to encourage them to regard periods as normal and question the myths about periods.
Poster for teachers and support staff
Created for use in staffrooms and staff washrooms, the poster aims to raise awareness about period poverty and how you and your colleagues can help students not miss out on school because their periods have started.
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