Egal's Roll Model Program equips students and advocates to promote period equity and raise awareness in their communities. The program also provides links to organizations tackling period poverty, offering additional support and resources.
Society has stigmatized periods for centuries. Because periods are considered taboo, doctors do not hear about health problems, and students would rather miss school than face the embarrassment.
There is a lack of access to period products in public spaces. Because of this, getting caught off-guard by a period can cause extreme anxiety. People struggle with affording period products or knowing where to retrieve them when they are made available to the public.
This is unnecessary in our time. The simple and obvious solution is to place period products in every public stall, recognizing them as a necessity, just like toilet paper.
By placing products directly alongside toilet paper, we’re sending a clear message: menstruation is a natural, normal part of life that deserves to be acknowledged and accommodated without shame or secrecy.
Help educate others! By demanding free products you open up a discussion that you may find others are willing to have. Though periods are still private, they are nothing to be embarrassed about, and revealing the facts and debunking misconceptions - “What, you mean you can’t hold it?” - will go a long way to removing stigma.
*We acknowledge that not all girls and women menstruate, and not all those with periods are girls and women.
Be part of the positive change. The Egal team has created a program to give you the tools that you need to start the conversation about period equity, and get free products at your school or college.
We are committed to working with schools to ensure that all students have the resources they need to manage their periods with privacy and dignity.
Braintree High School's Girls Empowerment Movement (GEM) Club recognized the impact of period poverty on their community and championed the implementation of Egal Pads on a Roll in their school bathrooms to provide menstruating students the resources they need to succeed.
Brooke is a Brown University Student and Co-Leader of Education for Period Equity at Brown, a student-run advocacy group fighting for period equity through service, education, and activism.
Hannah, a freshman at Wesleyan University and Massachusetts resident, has been working closely with Egal for over a year to help launch the Roll Model Program so advocates across the country have the support and tools they need to address menstrual equity in their schools & workplaces.
Project RED are a Canadian after-school club working to reduce the stigma & shame around periods, promote education about menstrual cycles, and address period poverty in their own school by offering Pads on a Roll in their restrooms!
More than 20 states have implemented legislation to make period products free and easily accessible in schools, offices, and other public spaces. Other states have bills pending. See how your state stacks up.
Let's Roll
Let's shatter the stigma of menstruation! Join our network of Menstrual Equity Champions and be part of something special.