24,825 is the number of homeless people in Victoria alone as of the 2016 census, and this number jumps to 116,000 people country wide. In Australia, 42% of homeless people are female, and 69% are of menstruating age. This means that there are approximately 33,620 people in the country who cannot afford adequate reproductive healthcare. This includes access to pregnancy-related healthcare, contraceptive methods, sexual health protection and at the most basic level, access to sanitary items for period hygiene management. The taboo culture surrounding menstruation acts as a barrier for homeless and low-income people to exercise their rights to reproductive health care. The Reproductive Rights Advocacy Group (RRAG), run by three Monash University students, wants desperately to do something about this. 

We urge the City of Melbourne council to pose as an example for other councils and lead the way in beginning a statewide initiative that provides free sanitary products in public bathrooms and community centres to support homeless menstruators in Victoria. If you wish to join the demand, we implore you to sign our petition, so that we can show Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Sally Capp, how many people are desperate for action.

For members of the homeless community who menstruate, this initiative would not only provide them with sanitary products, but also the respect and dignity that they deserve. This program will increase menstrual hygiene within this community and reduce the occurence of negative health impacts.

Our Government has ignored the needs of homeless menstruators in the state. We were promised by the Australian government that they would “provide healthcare for women at every stage of their lives” but the only indication of support for homeless menstruators in the 2019-2020 Victorian Budget is the “onsite treatment services to only three supported accommodation centres.”

Our government has broken their promise to us and failed to address the need of menstruators sleeping rough in our city. The lack of access to sanitary products is debilitating and the embarrassment is a barrier to access the “life opportunities” that the City of Melbourne council said they want to support.

People should not have to choose between buying dinner or buying tampons, that’s why this campaign is so important to the health and well-being of the homeless community. The Victorian government has been clear with their belief that “sanitary items are a necessity, not a luxury” and we urge them to remain true to their promises and implement this policy. 

Please sign our petition to have sanitary items provided freely in public bathrooms and community centres in Melbourne. 

If you would like to support this movement further, please share this petition, share our campaigning video, and share our facebook page. If you would really like to get behind this movement, please email this open letter to Sally Capp and CC our email address - r.r.advocacygroup@gmail.com.