Community Conversation: What is Period Poverty?

About 26 percent of the world population menstruates. Shame and stigma inhibits education and access to essential hygiene products for people who menstruate, and it happens everywhere. In the U.S., nearly two-thirds of low-income women couldn’t afford tampons or pads in 2018. Period poverty particularly impacts low income and unhoused communities, as well as people in Black and Brown communities.

Join WBEZ and Illinois Latino News for a free virtual conversation defining period poverty and exploring its covert effects on people across Chicago and around the world. During the program, we'll hear from panelists like Ida Melbye, the executive director of the Period Collective, and Abigail Suleman, co-founder of the Blood Buds UIC initiative, plus more. Reporter and editor of ILLN Annabel Rocha will host the event.

You can participate by sharing your experiences with menstruation through this survey.

This conversation is part of Rocha’s 2022 fellowship with the USC-Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.