Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov 27;18(1):238.
doi: 10.1186/s12978-021-01285-7.

Period poverty: menstrual health hygiene issues among adolescent and young Venezuelan migrant women at the northwestern border of Brazil

Rachel E Soeiro  1 , Leila Rocha  1 , Fernanda G Surita  1 , Luis Bahamondes  1 , Maria L Costa  2
Affiliations

Period poverty: menstrual health hygiene issues among adolescent and young Venezuelan migrant women at the northwestern border of Brazil

Rachel E Soeiro et al. Reprod Health. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Background: Adolescent and young women (10-24 years old) are habitually a neglected group in humanitarian settings. Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is an unmet aspect of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and an additional challenge if lack of hygiene products, inadequate access to safe, clean, and private toilets identified as period poverty. Our objective was to provide an overview of the main MHM issues affecting Venezuelan migrant adolescents and young women in the north-western border of Venezuela-Brazil.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted, early in 2021, with the use of a self-responded questionnaire, in Spanish, adapted from the Menstrual Practice Needs Scale (MPNS-36). All identified adolescents and young women aged between 12 and 24 years old were invited to participate (convenience sample-167 women). Women with complete questionnaires and who menstruate were included. Information on access to and quality of hygiene kits and toilets were retrieved, and a descriptive analysis performed, with an evaluation of frequencies for categorical variables (n, %) and mean (± SD-standard deviation) for continuous variables. In addition to the open-ended questions, we included one open question about their personal experience with menstruation.

Results: According to official reports, at the moment of the interviews, there were 1.603 Venezuelans living on the streets in Boa Vista. A total of 167 young women were invited, and 142 further included, mean age was 17.7 years, almost half of the participants who menstruate (46.4%) did not receive any hygiene kits, 61% were not able to wash their hands whenever they wanted, and the majority (75.9%) did not feel safe to use the toilets. Further, menstruation was often described with negative words.

Conclusions: Migrant Venezuelan adolescents and young women have their MHM needs overlooked, with evident period poverty, and require urgent attention. It is necessary to assure appropriate menstrual materials, education, and sanitation facilities, working in partnership among governmental and non-governmental organizations to guarantee menstrual dignity to these young women.

Contexto: Adolescentes e mulheres jovens (10–24 anos) são frequentemente negligenciadas em contextos humanitários. O manejo da higiene menstrual (MHM) é um aspecto ignorado em saúde sexual e reprodutiva (SSR) e um desafio adicional é a pobreza menstrual: falta de produtos de higiene pessoal, acesso inadequado a banheiros seguros, limpos e privados. Nosso objetivo foi fornecer uma visão geral das principais questões no MHM que afetam adolescentes e mulheres jovens imigrantes venezuelanas na fronteira da Venezuela com o Brasil. MéTODO: Foi realizado um estudo transversal no qual aplicou-se um questionário autorrespondido, em espanhol, adaptado da “Menstrual Practice Needs Scale” (MPNS-36) em janeiro de 2021, 167 adolescentes e mulheres jovens com idades entre 12 e 24 anos foram convidadas a participar, 142 responderam ao questionário. Os dados obtidos foram inseridos em um Banco de Dados elaborado para o estudo, no programa Excel para Windows e analisados no software SPSS. Foi realizada análise descritiva dos dados, com avaliação de frequências para variáveis categóricas (n, %) e média (± DP-desvio padrão) para variáveis contínuas. Recuperamos as informações de acesso e qualidade dos kits de higiene e realizamos uma análise descritiva. Além das questões de múltipla escolha, incluímos uma questão aberta: “Como é a menstruação para você?”.

Resultados: Segundo informações oficiais, no momento das entrevistas, havia 1.603 venezuelanos vivendo nas ruas de Boa Vista. Foram entrevistadas 142 adolescentes, com média de idade de 17,7 anos, quase metade das participantes que menstruavam (46,4%) não receberam kit de higiene, 61% não conseguiam lavar as mãos quando desejassem e a maioria (75,9%) não se sentia segura para usar o banheiro. Além disso, a menstruação foi frequentemente descrita com palavras negativas. CONCLUSõES: Adolescentes e mulheres jovens imigrantes venezuelanas têm suas necessidades no MHM negligenciadas, com evidente pobreza menstrual, e requerem atenção urgente. É necessário garantir absorventes, educação e saneamento básico, trabalhando em parceria entre organizações governamentais e não governamentais para garantir a dignidade menstrual a essas jovens.

Keywords: Adolescent/young women; Brazil; Menstrual health; Migrant; Period poverty; Venezuela.

Plain language summary

Adolescent and young women (10–24 years old) are habitually a neglected group in humanitarian settings (situations of forced displacement, armed conflict, or natural disaster) and, in those contexts, they hardly have access to hygienic menstrual products, safe toilets, or water. This study provides an overview of the menstrual hygiene management issues among Venezuelan adolescents and young migrants living in the northwestern Brazilian border. We found almost half of the participants who menstruate (46.4%) did not receive any hygiene kits, 61% were not able to wash their hands whenever they wanted, and the majority (75.9%) did not feel safe to use the toilets evidencing the period poverty (lack of menstrual supplies, private toilets, sanitation conditions, and education) that affects the wellbeing of these women, especially during humanitarian crisis. Knowing about the Venezuelan adolescent migrant’s menstrual health management issues may help other humanitarian settings to discuss and address those needs, reducing the physical, psychological, and social consequences of menstrual poverty.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Access to menstrual materials received by the migrant Venezuelan young women at the Brazilian-Venezuelan border. Only the adolescents and young women who received disposable pads answered this section (n = 69)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Sanitation conditions regarding MHM among the migrant Venezuelan young women at the Brazilian-Venezuelan border. Were included all the adolescents and young women who menstruate (n = 142)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
How is menstruation for you? 114 adolescents and young women answered this question
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. UNHCR. Mid-year trends 2020 Trends at a Glance. 2020. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&u.... Accessed 11 Mar 2021.
    1. Christelle Cazabat. Women and girls in internal displacement. UN Women, [Internet]. 2020. 2021. http://www.internationalinspiration.org/women-and-girls-in-internal-disp.... Accessed 11 Mar.
    1. World Health Organisation (WHO). Health for the World’s Adolescents: a second chance in the second decade. 2014.
    1. Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises (IAWG). Adolescent sexual and reproductive health toolkit for humanitarian settings. 2020. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/IAWG%20Toolkit.... Accessed 25 Jan 2021. - PubMed
    1. Jennings L, George AS, Jacobs T, Blanchet K, Singh NS. A forgotten group during humanitarian crises: a systematic review of sexual and reproductive health interventions for young people including adolescents in humanitarian settings. Confl Health. 2019;13(1):15–17. doi: 10.1186/s13031-019-0240-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed