ERAO SVG LAUNCHES MENSTRUAL HEALTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT ACROSS SEVERAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SVG
Equal Rights, Access and Opportunities SVG Inc. (ERAO SVG) began its “Menstrual Health Empowerment Project” throughout multiple Secondary Schools in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in April 2023. The Government of Canada is funding this project through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.
The Georgetown Secondary School, George Stephens Senior Secondary School, and Petit Bordel Secondary School are the secondary schools where this programme was initiated.
ERAO SVG will distribute menstrual health products to secondary schools, facilitate workshops to educate women and girls about menstrual health, and conduct surveys to better understand women and girls’ experiences with menstrual health issues, among other things, for this project.
The project’s purpose is to empower women and girls and promote gender equality in SVG. Furthermore, ERAO SVG intends to raise awareness about menstruation health and other concerns such as period poverty with this project.
Period poverty is a global issue that affects persons who lack access to safe, sanitary menstruation products and/or who are unable to manage their periods with dignity, sometimes due to community shame and consequence. At least 500 million women and girls worldwide do not have access to the facilities and products they require to regulate their periods correctly. These women and girls are typically from lower-income families, neighborhoods, and backgrounds.
Period poverty is a major problem for ERAO SVG because it is a natural biological occurrence for women and girls. Lack of access to basic menstruation facilities and products harms women and girls in a variety of ways.
ERAO SVG joins in honoring Period Poverty Awareness Week, which will take place from May 22nd to May 28th, 2023, and encourages the State, businesses, schools, civil society organizations, and individuals to do more to raise awareness and address period poverty issues in SVG.
No woman or girl in SVG should suffer as a result of a lack of safe and sanitary menstrual products and facilities.
