ASSEMBLY HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION No. 113

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED:  MARCH 10, 2022

 

      The Assembly Human Services Committee reports favorably Assembly Joint Resolution No. 113.

     This joint resolution designates the last full week of May of each year as “Period Poverty Awareness Week” in order to promote awareness of, and public actions to address, period poverty.  Period poverty is defined as inadequate access to menstrual hygiene products and education, clean toilets, and handwashing facilities.  Access to menstrual hygiene products, such as tampons or sanitary pads, is particularly difficult for homeless individuals, incarcerated menstruators, and transgendered persons.  Moreover, low-income menstruators frequently have difficulty affording the cost of menstrual hygiene products, since federal safety-net programs, such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), do not cover these essential health products.  Too often, menstruators are forced to miss school, work, or important events because they lack access to, or cannot afford to buy, the products needed to manage menstrual periods.