Menstrual health: the great forgotten issue among the rights of women in precarious situations in France

Since 2022, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has been running a project to tackle period poverty in squats and slums in Toulouse. Distribution of sanitary protection and awareness-raising about intimate hygiene and gynecological health enable women in precarious situations to experience their periods with greater dignity. In 2023, nearly 4 million menstruating women are experiencing period poverty in France. 

“You risk getting an infection if you don’t use the right sanitary pads. […] Sometimes, if we can, we buy them. […] We occasionally use children’s diapers,” says Mina, 30, mother of five. The young woman smiles broadly as she thanks Adela Briansó Junquera, head of SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s program to prevent period poverty, for handing her sanitary pads. 

Since November 2024, the association has been working in this hybrid site, somewhere between a squat and a slum, in the south of Toulouse. An abandoned pink brick building is occupied by some fifteen families from Albania. The latest arrivals have settled outside in run down caravans or makeshift shelters made of wooden planks, tarpaulins, and carpets.  

After connecting the site to drinking water, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s France mission rolled out its program to address period poverty. On this summer day in 2025, Adela is distributing sanitary pads, tampons, and soap to the women and girls on site. “The need around menstruation is really enormous, not only in terms of access to products, but also in terms of knowledge about the reproductive system,” says the program manager. 

For these women who lack everything, sanitary products are not a priority. Old cloth or toilet paper are often used as protection during menstruation, to the detriment of their health. “The most important thing for me is the well-being of my children, that they can eat their fill and go to school,” concurs Mina. In France, a 2023 study estimates that more than 4 million people are in a situation of menstrual insecurity, that’s nearly one in three women¹. 

Primarily responsible for domestic and family tasks, women in precarious situations have “an absolutely frightening mental load,” notes Alexandra Aussage, coordinator of the southern zone for SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s mission in France. “The idea behind our program is to create a moment of conviviality among women, during which we try to take them out of their daily routine and raise questions about their own rights.” 

The NGO works in partnership with midwives from the Plateforme Santé Précarité, who attend the distribution activities to raise awareness about intimate hygiene and gynecological health matters. “It opens up discussions about contraception, pregnancy, and gynecological issues. These are things that would be really difficult to talk about otherwise,” stresses Adela, head of the program to address period poverty in Toulouse. 

The association also notes that a number of beliefs and customs are associated with menstruation, during which women are particularly rejected and excluded from the family circle. “Sometimes they are asked not to use the same toilets as the rest of the household during their period,” reports Alexandra. The lack of access to sanitary products reinforces this isolation. According to a study by Dons Solidaires and IFOP, this has a significant impact on women’s self-confidence, leading some teenage girls to miss school and preventing some adults from going to work². 

With its program to address period poverty, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL aims to empower women. “We allow them to choose what type of sanitary protection they want to use, so that it is not something imposed on them, explains Alexandra Aussage, coordinator for the southern zone of the France mission. The fact that they don’t have to save money to buy sanitary products frees up a huge amount of mental space and helps restore their dignity.” 

Launched in 2022, the association’s pilot project has provided support to more than 500 women living in precarious housing in Toulouse. The association now hopes to secure the necessary funding to extend its work to other squats and slums in France. Urgent action is needed to fight the isolation and precariousness of women and offer them greater autonomy. 

Sources: 
¹ Règles Elémentaires and Opinion Way (2023) : Les protections périodiques, un luxe pour 4 millions de femmes en France. Enquête exclusive sur la précarité menstruelle février 2023 
² CP DS 3e barometre HP 2023.pdf 

Photos: © SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL