This is our scarlet murmuration – a bold, beautiful testament to the power of collective action and intersectional justice.
Why this report and why now?
Menstruation affects more than 2 billion people globally, yet many still face barriers to managing it with dignity, essential resources, and social support. The concept of "menstrual justice" broadens the focus from individual challenges to systemic inequalities underlying these barriers, drawing on feminist thought and reproductive justice, especially influenced by Black feminist activism.
It seeks structural change, emphasising the intersection of oppressions like racism, sexism, and classism, which further limits access to resources. Menstrual justice calls for intersectoral, community and governmental collaboration, addressing menstrual injustice by advocating for broader social change. This report amplifies the voices of those with lived experience and of grassroots activists, creating a unified call for a world where people who menstruate do so with dignity and equity.
Menstrual justice can be understood as a rights-based, intersectional approach that seeks to dismantle structural inequities related to menstruation and the menstrual cycle.
Menstrual justice is more than an approach – it is a powerful collective movement that strengthens and amplifies voices across the globe. Like a scarlet murmuration painting bold patterns across the sky, our movement gains its strength through the harmonious flight of countless individuals, each contributing their unique perspective and expertise. Whether we are activists, researchers, policymakers, or funders, our individual actions create dynamic patterns of change that reshape the very structures that have historically reinforced barriers.
Joining the larger murmuration: Intersecting justice movements
Just as murmurations can merge to create larger, more complex patterns, menstrual justice inherently intersects with multiple forms of social justice, demonstrating how systemic oppression operates through interconnected pathways. Simultaneously, it also presents the opportunity for social justice movements to collaborate to tackle these intersecting systemic oppressions. When we view menstrual experiences through a justice lens, we see how different forms of marginalisation combine to create compounded barriers.
Understanding these intersections is essential for crafting comprehensive solutions that tackle root causes rather than merely addressing surface-level symptoms. The report explores social movements that intersect with menstrual justice in important ways. Collaboration with broader social justice movements strengthens the impact of the menstrual movement, creating opportunities to collectively dismantle barriers and advance menstrual justice.
