One in four girls in Portugal admit that they have already resorted to alternative products because they are unable to afford menstrual products.
Alternatives mentioned include scarves, cotton fabrics, underwear, socks or old clothes, shows a study assessing the impact of menstrual poverty on school attendance. The work is progressing, and almost 12% of girls surveyed say that they have already missed classes because they are not able to buy such goods.
A study carried out by Spirituc – Investigação Aplicada shows that 85% of Portuguese women believe that menstrual poverty exists. And 25.5% of girls surveyed said they had friends who asked them to buy menstrual protection products because they couldn’t afford them.