Problem Statement 

Misinformation and lack of resources regarding menstruation is a big issue in São Paulo. People who menstruate face numerous problems due to not having sanitary pads available, or due to general misinformation on the topic, from themself and from people who do not menstruate.

 

Target Group

The initial target group for our project was the population of Paraisópolis (São Paulo), especially people who menstruate. However, during the execution of the project we performed a few scope changes, including changing the target group to "all people that menstruate in São Paulo".

 

Proposed Solution

To tackle the menstruation problems that people from São Paulo face, Hub SP II partnered up with a female association that provides support to vulnerable women in the community of Paraisópolis, named “Associação das Mulheres de Paraisópolis”. The association already has some initiatives regarding the topic, and our partnership was structured into two steps.

 

The first step was the execution of a fundraising campaign to allow the purchase of sanitary pads to fill the vending machine. This is a machine (pretty similar to regular vending machines) that the association owns, and that allows people who menstruate to freely withdraw an established number of pads per month. To do this, each person has a unique token that gives access to the pads in the vending machine. 

 

The second step of the project, however, which is still ongoing, is related to misinformation. Our proposed solution was to create regular events on the community, gathering all interested people (who menstruate and who don’t menstruate) to talk with doctors that have knowledge on this topic. As medical assistance is not easy to be reached in the community, a large number of citizens end up with unsolved doubts about menstruation. And a considerable part of the population, especially the one who doesn’t menstruate, are usually not even aware of the importance and the basic pieces of information regarding the topic. Therefore, by bringing voluntary doctors to talk and discuss menstruation with the population, we expect to improve awareness and knowledge on the topic.

 

As mentioned in the previous topic, we perform a mid-project adjustment, and this involved a "Proposed Solution" revamp. For that, we separated our project into the three dimensions that permeate the issue. The first stage consisted of collecting disposable pads as a way of guaranteeing access to menstrual hygiene and safety items. Then we moved on to the menstrual education pillar, which provided access to menstrual and emancipatory education. Finally, we devised a stage of demands and demands in which we would contact parliamentarians to bring the reality of people who menstruate so that they would have access to clean and safe infrastructure. We designed the project without necessarily being linked to any territory, so this solution has a more "generalist" character.

 

Hub Activities

To deliver this project, a few actions can be highlighted:

1. The visits to Paraisópolis community to understand the problem and the local reality.


2. The organization of the fundraising campaign.


3. The operational support to bring and organize the donations.


4. The approach to recruiting voluntary doctors that have knowledge about menstruation.


5. The scheduling of the regular events with the recruited doctors on Paraisópolis.

It’s important to mention that the first three activities are already completed, while the last two have been started, but are pending to be finished in 2023.

As mentioned in the previous topics, we also reviewed the project's activities. The first step for that was to make an adjusted plan. In it, we considered that the project would take 6 months and would consist of the following phases:

1st phase: Internal organization (APRIL)

2nd phase: Diagnosis and Contact (MAY/JUN/JUL) (collection and menstrual education)

3rd phase: Problem-solving (MAY/JUN/JUL) (collections and demands)

When planning the fundraiser, we wanted to do at least 3 rounds to collect pads, intimate hygiene items and money to buy supplies. We managed to hold 1 collection campaign in conjunction with the Baile da Massa.

When planning Menstrual Education, we planned conversation circles in the peripheries. We tried to contact 5 community leaders and/or organizations, but were unsuccessful with this activity. As a result, we launched our online booklet and also held one live on the subject. The idea was to do 5 lives, but we also failed to follow through with the partnerships we tried to make.

As we didn't manage to hold the roundtables, we didn't have any material to take to the parliamentarians. Our idea was to focus the roundtables on 1) why talk about menstruation; 2) what menstruation is and 3) who menstruating people are, at which point we would start talking about what it's like to be a menstruating person and to live in the area in question. From there, we would have an idea of what needed to be done, taking a specific community into account.

Short & Long-Term Goals/Results

Our expected outcomes related to this project are divided into two. Firstly, we expect to contribute to the information regarding menstruation. We understand there is a lot of misinformation and pending doubts that people have no easy way to solve. By organizing regular conversations with medical specialists, we hope to provide knowledge to the population.

And secondly, we expect to boost the pads distribution system in Paraisópolis. By providing the necessary funds, the Associação das Mulheres de Paraisópolis will now be able to offer pads to people who menstruate.

As effective results, we can highlight:

23 packs of 32 pads collected

02 packs of 16 pads collected

768 units of pads collected

1 Online booklet with inclusive content for people with disabilities, transgender and intersex people

1 live available on Instagram on menstrual dignity in the context of boycott, trans men and non-binary people

 

Available Metrics

To measure the impact of our project we defined two metrics: (a) the amount of money/pads raised in the campaign, and (b) the number of people present at the events.

For the first one, our result was an extraordinary total amount of R$13.080,00, which is equivalent to approx. 48.000 pads, providing support to about 2.990 people for 1 month or 249 people for 1 year.

The second, however, hasn't yet been fully implemented and therefore has no results. The goal is to directly impact a total of 100 people in 2023, measured by the presence in the regular events.

 

Collaborators

To deliver this project we partner up with a local female association in Paraisópolis, named Associação das Mulheres de Paraisópolis and the association called Baile da Massa.