Shout-It-Now tackles period poverty with Menstrual Justice Initiative

As South Africa marks Women’s Month and 70 years since the historic Women’s March, youth sexual and reproductive health organisation Shout-It-Now is putting menstrual justice at the top of the agenda.

As part of its Menstrual Justice Initiative, launched on August 27 at the Jabulani Centre in Soweto, Shout-It-Now rolled out 30 000 reusable period panties to girls and young women.

The Menstrual Justice Initiative is built on a simple premise: a young person’s period should never stand between them and their education, health, aspirations or future.

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Rather than being the only intervention, the distribution acts as a gateway to menstrual health education, open conversations, youth-friendly healthcare and the wider support young people need to manage their bodies with dignity.

CEO of Shout-It-Now Ntombifikile Mtshali said Women’s Month gives them an opportunity not only to remember the women who fought for their freedom, but to ask what freedom means for young women and girls today.

“For about 30% of young girls in South Africa, something as natural as having a period still stands between them and their education,” said Mtshali.

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“Period poverty, inadequate sanitation and the stigma surrounding menstruation continue to create barriers that should not exist. Menstrual justice means ensuring that no girl has to miss out on her education, limit her ambitions or compromise her dignity simply because she is on her period.”

The Menstrual Justice Initiative is deliberately designed not as a standalone intervention, but as part of Shout-It-Now’s integrated approach to youth health and well-being.

The theme of the launch, ‘Every Body, Every Future’, reflects the organisation’s belief that every young person deserves access to quality healthcare, accurate information, supportive communities, bodily autonomy, safe spaces and opportunities to lead healthy, empowered lives.

Through its community-based services, peer educators, safe spaces and digital platforms — such as its multilingual gender-based violence support chatbot Chomi and the free AI companion Self-Cav — Shout-It-Now connects young people to information, support and youth-friendly healthcare in non-judgemental environments.

Importantly, the launch gave attendees an opportunity to experience the Shout-It-Now model on the ground.

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Alongside the menstrual health activities, young people could access the organisation’s usual youth-friendly services, including HIV testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), contraception and counselling, demonstrating how menstrual health sits within a much wider ecosystem of sexual and reproductive health and well-being.

Mtshali further stated that menstrual health cannot be separated from the wider challenges young people face.

She said a young person seeking information about their period may also need access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, HIV prevention, mental health support, information about healthy relationships or help navigating safety and gender-based violence.

“These issues are interconnected, and our services need to be too,” added Mtshali.

“The answer cannot be to have one successful programme operating in one community while young people elsewhere continue to face the same barriers. We need models that can reach young people where they are and respond to the realities of their whole lives.”

The Menstrual Justice Initiative is therefore intended as a proof of concept for a model that can be replicated in communities across South Africa, with government departments, schools, NGOs, corporates and other partners able to support and commission menstrual justice programmes in the communities they serve.

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This approach also recognises that sustainable impact requires more than short-term donations. Shout-It-Now is developing a model through which partners can invest in the procurement and distribution of menstrual products, community mobilisation, education, youth engagement and connections to health and psychosocial services.

While menstruation is experienced by women and girls, menstrual justice is not an issue that belongs to women alone. Creating environments in which menstruation can be discussed openly and without shame requires the involvement of boys and young men, parents, educators, healthcare providers, communities, policymakers and the private sector.

“It is important that we move beyond the idea that menstruation is something girls should quietly manage on their own,” concluded Mtshali. “Menstrual justice is about creating communities where young people can ask questions, access what they need and feel supported rather than embarrassed or excluded. That requires all of us to be part of the conversation.”