In 2023, with funding from the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR), the Faculty of Arts, and the University of Manitoba’s Strategic Initiatives Support Fund, a group of researchers affiliated with the CHRR came together to explore and address menstrual equity on campus. The “Period Poverty and Equity, On Campus and Beyond” project undertook a campus audit of washrooms to assess availability of menstrual supplies, a survey open to UM students, staff, and faculty, as well as a number of outreach events.

Working towards period equity is not as a charitable endeavour to be ameliorated by donations of period supplies; rather menstrual equity is an issue of justice. Shifting the conversation from period poverty to menstrual justice means asking that all people who menstruate be provided with the resources, tools, and infrastructure to do so with safety and dignity.