We said it in 2022, when we released the first-ever research into period poverty in Amsterdam, and we’ll say it again: Data matters.
Because we wanted to answer a few crucial questions about period poverty, we’re marking our fifth year as Neighborhood Feminists by releasing another study. Specifically, we wanted to know:
- What’s changed in Amsterdam since our 2022 study?
- What does period poverty actually look like across the Netherlands in 2024?
Given the spike in the cost of groceries, as well as pressure from the housing and energy crises, we suspected that the national rate of period poverty was likely higher than commonly understood (most using the 2019 Plan International NL study to estimate 10%, or one in ten experiencing period poverty).
Working once again with award-winning insights agency Opinium, we’ve now completed the largest-ever study of period poverty in the Netherlands, with a total of 3,554 people taking part. Of these, 991 were collected from Amsterdam, to ensure a robust comparison to our 2022 quantitative research.
Our research, which ran July 2-August 22 and covered the entire country, confirmed our concerns, unfortunately: period poverty in the Netherlands is found above and below the poverty line, and it is not limited to big cities. It is, however, persistent and significant, and we’ve named our report CODE RED with a corresponding sense of urgency.
Here’s a quick look at some findings:
For a sense of scale:
But what about Amsterdam?
While still above the national rate, Amsterdam’s rate of period poverty has been halved within two years, going from 27% to 14%. This reflects the impact and importance of the funding provided by the city in 2023 for the distribution of free period products.
But what does ‘struggling to afford’ actually mean, practically speaking, for those 765,000 people? Our research builds on earlier research, confirming that period poverty can impact all aspects of a person’s life. Here are a few examples:
Impact can mean buying less food.
Impact can mean missing out on school, work and social opportunities.
This isn’t just about missing out, it’s about impact on physical and mental health, too. The research includes sobering findings about shame and stress due to the stigma tied to periods and poverty.
Impact can also mean having to use ineffective, unsafe alternatives.
And the research also reveals other startling findings, such as the commonness of heavy bleeding, which comes with abnormal levels of pain and requires significant adjustments. The study shows that the rates at which people in the Netherlands seek treatment for these issues are significantly lower than in other European countries. This is worrying since higher-than-average flow can be an indicator of serious and painful disorders, such as endometriosis and PCOS.
The evidence-based solutions to end period poverty are at hand, however, and they are feasible.
In both the public and private sector, the focus should be not only on menstrual access for everyone but also menstrual education and research. This means practical actions both large and small taken nationally and locally.
No substantive change occurs without courage and commitment. It’s even harder without cooperation. With that in mind, we extend an invitation to decision-makers, researchers, volunteers, community leaders, union members, advocates, social workers and anyone else interested to review the CODE RED report in full. The data is robust and clear, and can support further research and public health and anti-poverty policy measures. With the additional context provided, it serves as a practical resource comprehensively explaining period poverty in the Netherlands, and ways to effectively tackle it.
No matter who you are, CODE RED is an urgent call to action, for equality, dignity, and the acknowledgment that menstruation is a natural part of life – and it’s addressed to you, too.
We shared an advance copy with Liliane Ploumen, Founder of She Decides and Senior Advisor at Bureau Clara Wichmann (not to mention Former Minister, Member of Parliament, and Party Lead of the PvdA), as well as with pioneer and Scottish Member of Parliament Monica Lennon. Here’s what they had to say:
So how do we together address this matter of equality, dignity and public health?
Download full research report
Click on the pdf below to dive into our full report, for a closer look at the data and the actions we recommend at the national and the municipal level, for government, businesses, public schools, universities–and you.
Download 2-pager
For a brief overview, check out the downloadable 2-pager summary.
