Many people may take the ease of picking up menstrual products at the store for granted. But for others, accessing proper menstrual supplies is a challenge.
The student organization Accessible Reproductive Healthcare Initiative is holding a drive through the end of March to collect menstrual products to distribute to low-income people who need them in Madison who could not otherwise afford them.
The second annual campus-wide “Bleeding Love” drive coincides with Women’s History Month. It intends to end the perception of menstrual products as luxury items as opposed to basic needs, according to Kendall Oehler, a co-founder and vice president of the group.
“In addition to collecting menstrual products to make them more accessible, ARHI also aims to destigmatize menstruation, promote women's health and healthcare advocacy, and advocate for larger scale institutional policy change,” Oehler said in an email. “We believe that access to reproductive health care—including but not limited to access to menstrual supplies—is a right all people deserve.”
UW-Madison students can donate any packaged or loose menstrual products with the wrapper still intact to multiple drop sites across campus. Donation locations include any residence hall front desk, the Campus Women's Center, the Center for Cultural Enrichment in Witte Hall, the Letters & Science Honors Program in Washburn Observatory, the Gender & Women's Studies Department office and Union South.
“It is our hope that through this initiative, ARHI, the University of Wisconsin and the Madison community more broadly can add to the rising tide of voices advocating for reproductive rights,” Oehler said.
