Period Poverty and Menstrual Perceptions Among Unhoused Menstruators in an Urban Center in Southern Ontario
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to uncover, describe and examine period poverty among unhoused menstruators accessing an urban shelter in Southern Ontario. Situated in a postmodern feminist lens and explored through thematic analysis, I employ participant observations and semi-structured interviews with shelter residents (n=13) and shelter staff (n=3) to conduct an exploratory case study at Dahlia Women and Family Shelter. The study findings suggest that menstruators at Dahlia experience period poverty and undergo significant challenges to their menstrual hygiene management. Menstrual perceptions were also found to vary based on the menstrual education that menstruators received and the unique socio-cultural context under which they received them. By shedding light onto the socio-cultural dynamics of period poverty and menstrual perceptions, this study endeavours to offer practical recommendations that, when implemented in shelters across Southern Ontario, may work to reduce instances of period poverty and negative menstrual perceptions among unhoused menstruators.