Axis: Humanitarian Action
Office: Mexico
Dignified menstrual management in mobility contexts is a complex need as it requires interdisciplinary and multisectoral strategies to generate long-term results.
CADENA Mexico, in alliance with UNICEF, responded to the needs of girls, adolescents, women and menstruating women in a situation of mobility in the state of Chiapas with the implementation of the Periodos en Movimiento (Periods in Movement) project.
This project focused on three main lines of action: menstrual education, delivery of menstrual management supplies and supplies, and conducting research on “Menstruating on the southern border of Mexico”.
Between December and August 2023, Periodos en Movimiento was held in the towns of Arriaga, Tapachula and Tuxtla Gutiérrez-Berriozábal.
With the support of three workshop leaders, we provided 133 menstrual education workshops in 3 schools, 4 care centers and 9 temporary housing spaces, totaling 18 implementation points.
These workshops were attended by 2,827 people, who learned about how the menstrual-ovulatory cycle works, the different menstrual management products and how to eliminate existing taboos surrounding menstruation.
The workshops were also offered to children, adolescents and men, in order to raise awareness about the menstrual-ovulatory cycle among non-menstruating people.
In addition to the workshops, we conducted research on the needs and challenges faced by menstruating people in mobility, specifically on the southern border of the country.
The research, “Menstruating in Mexico’s Southern Border,” focused on all components of menstrual management: menstrual education and health, water conditions, sanitation and hygiene, and gender equity.
Through various diagnostics, interviews and participant observation, we were able to analyze the challenges of menstrual management in mobility contexts.
Finally, we delivered menstrual management kits to people in the three locations mentioned above.
In total, we supported 3,263 people with the delivery of menstrual kits in temporary housing spaces and care centers, and 750 children in school spaces.
We thank Essity for their donation, in favor of menstruating people in mobility situations.
