•74% of Indigenous respondents in remote communities and 55% of Indigenous respondents in non-remote communities “sometimes” or “often” have issues accessing menstrual products. 

 

•Indigenous respondents in remote communities were most likely to miss out on exercise (42%), work (28%), and school (18%) due to a lack of access to period products.

 

•47% of youth have missed school because they lacked access to period products. 

 

•93% of non-Indigenous respondents and 26% of Indigenous respondents in remote communities “rarely” or “never” have issues accessing menstrual products. 

 

These are four of the findings from a 2022 report on menstrual-related needs in northern Communities by Moon Time Connections.

 

Moon Time Sisters was founded in 2017 by Nicole White (pictured top right), a Métis woman from Treaty 6, Saskatchewan, when she learned students in remote areas of the province were missing school during their Moon Times due to a lack of access to menstrual products. 

 

Veronica Brown founded an Ontario chapter in 2017, and Neha Menon founded one in BC in 2020. The  Manitoba chapter was founded by Janessa Roy in 2021. Now called Moon Time Connections (MTC), the organization delivers free period products to Communities upon request, a culturally specific Moon Time Education program, and offers presentations about period equity. 

 

Since its inception in 2017, MTC has shipped over 10 million menstrual products to 259 Community programs in 192 Communities, spanning all three Territories and the provinces from BC to Labrador. They have trained 119 Moon Time Facilitators since last March, when they launched their Moon Time 101 programming for Community. 

 

 

One unique aspect of their organization is their education programming. It includes Indigenous perspectives on honouring Moon Time, or the menstrual cycle, for all people who menstruate and focuses on building skills within Community. The presentations draw connections between different aspects of First Nation, Inuit, and Metis cultures and decolonization, and brings people back to honouring their Moon Time. 

 

Presentations aim to be so empowering that attendees report a significant jump in confidence around their periods between the start and finish. 

 

Curious to see if you could feel more empowered by your cycle? Or more informed about period equity? BCSTH members are invited to a free webinar with Moon Time Connections on Thursday, July 19th from 11am to 12 noon.

 

Webinar and BCSTH Menstrual Equity Project is funded by Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health.