The National Council of Negro Women - DeKalb Chapter is supporting Period Poverty Awareness Week which ends on Tuesday, May 28th. What many people don’t know is that period products bought mostly by women are taxed at the full 4% plus local county taxes. Products used for monthly menstrual cycles are not luxuries they are necessary. In our state women are more likely to live in poverty and earn only 81% of what men earn for the same positions. Many states have exempted state taxes on necessary items like food, medical devices, hearing aids, and prosthetics but period products are fully taxed.
The NCNW is spearheading efforts to raise awareness and advocate at the local level for the elimination of taxes on products that are necessary for almost every teenage girl, young adult woman, and older woman in general to use these products. Women already at an economic disadvantage are paying the price every month for “health” products. Debbie Hillman a leader with NCNW Georgia joins us to amplify the challenge and solutions to this challenge.
I asked about the NCNW DeKalb initiative and Hillman explained that it is a national program. The organization wants to ensure all women have access to a higher quality of life. She emphasizes that period products are necessary health products not luxury products.
When asked what the organization has learned from women who experience this challenge, Hillman speaks about the breadth of the problem from middle, high school, and college students. She speaks about school nurses who use their own money to provide free products to students without the means. She also explains that if a young person’s period lasts five days and she misses school every month during her cycle she probably will not make the honor roll.
Hillman speaks about the NCNW “Purple Rush” which supports advocacy through product drives and reminds people that period products should be included in all school drives. NCNW also encourages women and people who care about women to write to local, state, and national elected representatives. She invites churches, women’s groups, alumni associations, and others who are interested in addressing this issue to reach out to their local chapters of NCNW.
For more information on Period Product Awareness Week
For more information on the National Council of Negro Women