MENSTRUAL POVERTY IN VENEZUELA
Summary of Meals4Hope Survey Results. April,2021

Meals4Hope conducted a survey to understand the problem of access to menstrual products in Venezuela, and the results are alarming.

53%
of women in Venezuela substitute menstrual hygiene products for homemade alternatives.

• “I use rags from used clothes”
• “I use old pantyhose and wash them”
• “I make pads out of egg boxes”
• “I use pieces of cloth with paper or plastic bags”
• “I use plants, plant leaves”

99.5%
of women use homemade alternatives because they do not have money to buy menstrual products.

• “Money is only enough for food”
• “My family does not have resources, there is no money for menstrual pads”
• “The truth is we don't have money, my daughter and I use cloth rags”
• “What I earn is to eat”

86%
of women are afraid/ashamed of getting their cloth stained because they feel insecure with homemade alternatives.

• “I cry when it leaks”
• “I get teased at school for staining my cloth”
• “I don't want to go out because I am afraid of getting stained publicly”
• “Those days I can't leave the house”
• “I've stayed in the room for several days without going out”

Estela Project
Fighting Menstrual Poverty