News
13 March, 2025
Period dignity
AUSTRALIANS are being called to donate period products and incontinence aids this month, to help girls and women going through financial or circumstantial hardships go through their period with indignity, especially following Cyclone Alfred’s aftermath.
Share the Dignity, a non-profit organisation aiming to end period poverty in Australia, is collecting period products and incontinence aids until March 31. These can be donated in the pink collection boxes at all Woolworths Supermarkets Australia-wide.
Woolworths will also donate 5 cents from the sale of every period product purchased throughout March, adding to the $3,157,033 already donated since the partnership began in 2019. Thanks to these donations, Share the Dignity has been able to install and maintain 107 currently installed Dignity Vending Machines, which dispense free period packs to those in need in the community.
This support helps ensure that those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, domestic violence, or poverty don't have to risk their health by using other items in place of period products. All period products and incontinence aids collected through the Dignity Drive will be distributed to Share the Dignity's 3000+ charity partners, including community groups, domestic violence refuges, homeless shelters, and other organisations supporting our most vulnerable community members.
Share the Dignity founder and managing director, Rochelle Courtney, said that despite the incredible support the charity receives, the cost-of-living crisis in Australia continues to impact those experiencing period poverty.
“We’ve accomplished so much over the last 10 years and I’m so proud of the work that we’ve done, but there is still so much more to do,” she said. “The cost-of-living crisis has placed immense pressure on vulnerable Australians, and we must rally together to ensure no one has to face period poverty alone."
“No woman, girl, or person who menstruates should have to experience the indignity of having to substitute period products.”
The Bloody Big Survey, conducted by Share the Dignity in 2024, highlighted the hardships faced by everyday Australians, quantifying the alarming statistics. It found that 64% of respondents had difficulty purchasing period products due to cost. Girls and women living in poverty often resort to using socks, newspapers, towels, and wadded-up toilet paper to manage their period.
