Matters of Interest

Period Poverty

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (15:22): This afternoon, I rise to speak on how non-government organisations have been working in our state to end period poverty. Many of us in this place have identified it as a major issue for girls and women in this state. I would like to highlight just some of the charities and NGOs based in South Australia that have been filling the gaps of the government's neglect for essential supports to women and girls.

Long before it was talked about in this parliament, period poverty was being tackled by NGOs. They recognised how devastating period poverty was for women and girls and how it keeps the cycle of poverty continuing. Just over 12 months ago, Foodbank began a program dedicated to helping young women in disadvantaged families. The program delivers young women's health packs that contain essential items, including pads and tampons. Foodbank South Australia's CEO Greg Pattinson has expressed to me that the program has been greatly successful and has benefited the girls receiving the packs, without government support.

Foodbank, like many other organisations, cannot turn their back on girls who are unable to afford basic health and sanitary items, as this government appears to be doing. Foodbank's 2019 hunger report detailed that women are more likely to face food insecurity than men and that a quarter of women faced food insecurity over the past year. I was reminded of the comments made in the Commissioner for Children and Young People's Leave No One Behind report, which stated that often, when someone is faced with the decision of whether to put food on the table or buy sanitary items, food is always chosen over pads and tampons.

TABOO is a social enterprise that works to destigmatise periods and provide girls around the world with access to free pads and tampons. Their social enterprise model is simple but highly effective. Profits made by purchasing a TABOO product go straight to the charity One Girl. One Girl tackle several issues of inequality focused around girls.

All the profits from TABOO go to support the LaunchPad program. The program promotes health and menstrual hygiene and tackles destigmatising periods. TABOO also recognises that period poverty is an issue in South Australia. Anyone can donate TABOO products to be delivered to a woman in the St Vincent de Paul Society's Women's Crisis Centre or to a woman living in the APY lands.

Share the Dignity and Essentials 4 Women are two other organisations in our state working on strategies and programs to address period poverty and the provision of free pads and tampons for girls and women. I recognise that I have only mentioned a few of the many organisations working towards destigmatising the issue of periods and working to give women and girls access to essential items. Thank you to all the organisations that have worked to support girls' and women's access to essential health items.

It is a fact of life that women in all aspects are disproportionately disadvantaged compared with men. It is essential that the government steps up and plays an important role in addressing the disadvantage and resourcing of strategies and programs that support the invaluable work that NGOs do. Sanitary items should never disadvantage a woman from achieving and lifting herself out of poverty, yet they do. It is programs like the ones I have mentioned that highlight this but also give us hope that, perhaps one day, women can live in a world where they are supported and given every opportunity to achieve.