American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Sanitation First, two non-profit organisations, had collaborated to conduct a baseline-level survey in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu exploring the stigma surrounding menstruation and the barriers girls face towards meeting their needs. The following are the findings -

• 43% of boys believed that girls shouldn’t enter the kitchen while 58% believed they shouldn’t enter religious places during menstruation. 77% of girls shared this belief.

• 70% of boys and 30% of girls believed that menstruation was disabling for girls. This reflected an undercurrent of stigma towards menstruation.

• 15% of girls had missed school due to heavy and painful menstrual bleeding. This showed the significant burden of an oft-ignored issue.

• Meanwhile, 95% of teachers and school leaders believed that mothers should be the primary source of information about menstruation for girls.

• A majority of girls also followed unsafe practices related to the disposal of sanitary products. 72% of women burnt the sanitary products while 3% of them buried it.

• Following the findings of this study, Sanitation First plans to conduct the ‘Happy Periods' training programme across 62 schools in the district. These will be compared with other groups acting as a control in the district. An endline survey will then be conducted to assess the impact of this project.

• Happy Periods is a program conducted independently in Tamil Nadu to create awareness among adolescents and teachers regarding menstruation.Click here to read more