Promoting Period Power: Encouraging Effective Menstrual Management
The Period Education Project (PEP) is an initiative that aims to reduce menstrual health stigma and improve menstrual education among young people. This project, backed by partners such as Tampax, Girlology, Girls Inc., and numerous prestigious universities, offers age-appropriate, accurate menstrual health education to address misinformation and cultural taboos.
Key Features of PEP
PEP's approach is multifaceted. It provides interactive workshops that engage students directly with information about menstruation, hygiene, and related health topics in a supportive environment. These sessions facilitate open dialogue to challenge stigma and myths surrounding menstruation, creating safe spaces for discussion.
By empowering young people, particularly girls, with knowledge about their menstrual health, PEP aims to improve their overall wellbeing and participation in school.
The Goals of PEP
The primary goals of PEP are to demystify menstruation, normalize conversations around it, and break down cultural stigma and taboos. It also aims to increase menstrual health literacy among youth, helping them understand biological, hygienic, and social aspects of menstruation.
Additionally, PEP supports the inclusion of menstrual health topics in school curriculums and youth programs, and promotes gender equality by addressing barriers menstruation can pose to education and social participation.
Impact of PEP
PEP workshops and education efforts have been shown to reduce stigma, improve knowledge and attitudes about menstrual health, encourage healthier menstrual hygiene practices, and support young people's confidence to discuss menstruation openly and seek help when needed.
Potentially, lowering absenteeism related to menstrual health challenges could improve educational outcomes. While the exact details on PEP’s workshops and outcomes depend on the local implementation and evaluation, the project represents a comprehensive approach to tackling menstrual health stigma through education targeted at young individuals.
In the United States, PEP's mission is particularly important as 1 in 5 girls miss school due to lack of period protection, and more than two-thirds of low-income women and girls lack access to adequate period products.
Medical students can serve as role models for young people in their neighborhood who lack resources, and teaching children and adults can help medical students develop their public speaking and communication abilities. PEP offers specialized education addressing a big gap in young women's health, and provides information on local resources offering free period products and trusted resources for additional menstrual health information.
PEP is evidence-based, rooted in science, and developed by nationally recognized doctors. Its workshops cover topics such as female reproductive anatomy, the menstrual cycle, menstrual and health tracking, normal and abnormal menses, safe period management options, and stigma-reducing myth-busting.
By educating young people, PEP empowers them to become stronger health advocates for women, eliminating stigmas associated with menstruation, and growing up with less anxiety about their bodies and health. In turn, they can become more confident and informed adults, ready to tackle the challenges of adulthood with knowledge and understanding.
Science and health-and-wellness intersect in The Period Education Project (PEP), an initiative that uses education as a tool to combat menstrual health stigma, improve knowledge, and promote gender equality. PEP's education and self-development programs equip medical students with public speaking abilities, enabling them to serve as role models in their communities, address women's health issues, and support the learning of children and adults about menstruation, reproductive health, and hygiene.
