Working Group Director Inga Winkler to give talk about Human Rights in Menstrual Movements at Oxford University in May 2023

Menstruation matters, and it matters for the realization of human rights. Menstrual stigma has profound effects on the rights to health, education, work, and participation in public life, among others. As menstruation is gaining increasing attention, many organizations have adopted the framing of human rights, which holds the promise of addressing menstrual stigma. Dr Winkler's presentation critically assesses the menstrual movement and its employment of human rights, examining the promises, pitfalls, and renewed potential of human rights.

Many current efforts at the global level are at risk of instrumentalization, tokenism, and reductionism. However, the menstrual movement is not monolithic, and many grassroots initiatives employ a broader and more nuanced understanding of human rights. Combined with normative arguments, this allows re-envisioning human rights in the menstrual movement (from below) to address gender injustices. At a conceptual level, Dr Winkler's work is embedded in critiques of the human rights ‘enterprise’ as risking to lose legitimacy and seeks to contribute to the emergence of a stronger human rights movement that bridges the local and the global.

Register here

Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group fellows publish new article

Fellows of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group have published the recent article “Menstrual Health: A definition for policy, practice and research.” This paper was developed by a global team of experts who have defined menstrual health to advance policy, practice, and research and is the launch of a new menstrual health definition that urges action on menstrual health for all.

Billions of people around the world experience a menstrual cycle. Meeting their menstrual needs is essential for achieving health and gender equality. A growing body of activists and actors are rising to the challenge and have brought visibility to this long-marginalized topic. However, large-scale investment and coordination across sectors is needed to ensure menstrual health for all. To provide a common language and unite efforts to support the breadth of menstrual needs, a collaboration of experts have now defined menstrual health.

Published in the journal Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, menstrual health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in relation to the menstrual cycle.” This definition is grounded in the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of health and is supplemented by a description of the requirements for achieving menstrual health over the life-course. As outlined in the definition, achieving menstrual health requires access to information about the menstrual cycle and self-care, materials, water and sanitation facilities and services to care for the body during menstruation, access to timely diagnosis, care and treatment for menstrual discomforts and disorders, a positive and respectful environment free from stigma, and the freedom to participate in all spheres of life throughout the menstrual cycle. The definition also emphasizes that whilst the majority of those who experience a menstrual cycle are women and girls, menstrual health is essential for all those who experience a menstrual cycle, regardless of their gender identity and the context in which they live.

Dr. Inga Winkler, one of the authors of the paper and a faculty member in human rights at Columbia University, explained, ” Menstrual health is at a critical junction. While gaining more traction, current efforts risk being siloed and disjointed. A shared understanding of menstrual health will help us address menstrual needs holistically to support the realization of a range of human rights.”

The expert collaboration was brought together by the Global Menstrual Collective and consulted a further 51 stakeholders to refine the definition.

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Read the full article here.

Learn more about the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group here and on their blog Periods at Columbia.

Director of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group interviewed by NPR

Inga Winkler, director of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group, was interviewed by NPR for the article, A Menstrual Expert's Surprising Tips On How To Talk About Your Period. The article also included a zine co-written by Inga Winkler and Malaka Gharib, which provides tips on how to fight menstrual stigma.

For more on Inga Winkler’s work on Menstruation and Gender Justice visit the working group blog. https://periodsatcolumbia.com/

Menstrual Health Blog Written by Working Group Fellow

Trisha Maharaj is part of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group that aims to cultivate research for the burgeoning field of menstrual studies. Her post in the working group’s blog is entitled “Menstruation and Religion: Women’s Meaning-Making and Agency in the Hindu Community in Trinidad,” which can be found here. 

The Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group Officially Launches the Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies

Fellows of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group officially launched the Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies at a virtual event on October 8th, 2020.  Lead handbook editor Chris Bobel and co-editors Breanne Fahs, Tomi-Ann Roberts, Katie-Ann Hasson, Elizabeth Arveda Kissling, and Inga Winkler, introduced the 1000+ page handbook and hosted a live Q&A session on handbook’s accessibility and potential to create change around the conversation on menstruation.

Read and download the complete open access handbook here. 

Fellows of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group Author an Article on Evidence-Driven Policy and Practice for Menstrual Health

Fellows of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group, Inga T. Winkler, Chris Bobel, Lauren C. Houghton, Noémie Elhadad, Caitlin Gruer & Vanessa Paranjothy co-authored an article titled, The Politics, Promises, and Perils of Data: Evidence-Driven Policy and Practice for Menstrual Health. In their paper, which takes the form of a conversation, members of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group discuss the promises and perils of data about menstruation and bring their various disciplinary backgrounds to bear.

Menstrual Health Working Group Fellow Awarded for New Book

Chris Bobel, Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group fellow, has received the Sociology of Development Outstanding Book Award for her recent book The Managed Body: Developing Girls & Menstrual Health in the Global South (2019) published by Palgrave Macmillan.

To learn more about the award click here.
For more from Menstrual Health and Gender Justice visit their blog Periods at CU.

Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Fellow Marni Sommer Co-Authors Article for Devex

Marni Sommer, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group fellow, recently co-wrote an opinion piece for Devex titled “Creating a more equal post Covid-19 world for people who menstruate.” Fellow co-authors of the piece include Virginia Kamowa and Therese Mahon.

Click here to read the full article.

Menstrual Health & Gender Justice Working Group Recognizes Menstrual Hygiene Day 2020

The Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group has released a series of op-ed’s, articles, and reflections related to the themes of menstrual health and gender justice just in time for Menstrual Health Day 2020.

Students from the Menstrual Health course “Menstruation Gender & Rights” penned op-ed’s drawing attention to various facets of menstruation neglected in mainstream discourse. Working group director, Inga Winkler, also discusses what she’s learned from her students regarding the menstrual movement. The Spring 2020 “Menstruation Gender & Rights” course was taught by working group fellows Inga Winkler, Noémie Elhadad, Lauren Houghton, Anja Benshaul-Tolonen, and Chris Bobel and was funded by the Provost’s Interdisciplinary Teaching Award.

Course instructor and working group fellow Noémie Elhadad also recently co-authored the article “Characterizing physiological and symptomatic variation in menstrual cycles using self-tracked mobile-health data.”

Below is a full list of recent articles from the Menstrual Health working group. Be sure to also check out their blog, Periods at Columbia, for regular updates and posts from the group.

The default body is extinct. Today’s bodies menstruate., by Alexis Buncich

Characterizing physiological and symptomatic variation in menstrual cycles using self-tracked mobile-health data, by Noémie Elhadad

The COVID-19 ‘Baby Boom,’ Contraception and Why I Could Not Wait for my First ‘Quarantine Period, by Nay Elhelhou

Menstrual stigma has stained society, and schools have done nothing to stop the leak, by Ilana Hammer

Bleeding While Competing, by Julia Kepczynska

Red-Colored Cushions, by Sonya Yoonah Kim

Getting Off Red Handed: The Taboo-busting Power of Menstrual Masturbation, by Rowena Kosher

Unraveling the Menstrual Concealment Myth, by Mary Olson

A Call for Body Positive Menstrual Activism, by Lucie Paradis

The upsides of the forbidden birth control pill for unmarried women and girls, by Tasnia Shahjahan

#EmergingMenstrualVoices call for a bolder menstrual movement that’s radical, political, and holistic, by Inga Winkler

Reconsidering What is Essential: Pads Behind Bars, by Lauren Winters

New Blog Post on Menstrual Health Working Group Conference in Switzerland

The Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group fellows Inga Winkler, Chris Bobel, and Nancy Reame hosted the “Menstruation at the Margins” workshop at the Fondation Brocher in Hermance, Switzerland from December 10th-13th, 2019. Research Fellow for the working group and Staff Associate at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Purvaja Kavattur, reflects on her experiences at the workshop in her latest post on the working group’s blog.

Kavattur writes that, focusing on the menstrual health needs of marginalized populations “reminds us that the way we ask questions may not represent the experiences of everyone, especially those at the margins,” and that we should “sharpen [our] commitment to ensure that the menstrual movement does not leave those at the margins behind.”

Read the full blog post here.

New Course in Spring 2020: “Menstruation, Gender, and Rights: Interdisciplinary Approaches”

Led by the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group, “Menstruation, Gender, and Rights: Interdisciplinary Approaches” will explore the contemporary discourse around menstruation in global and local contexts.

Students in the course will develop a proposal for an interdisciplinary research project and engage in a workshop on public engagement with The OpEd Project.

The course will be co-taught by an interdisciplinary team of working group faculty fellows, including:

• Inga Winkler, Lecturer in Human Rights

• Noémie Elhadad, Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics

• Lauren Houghton, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology

• Anja Tolonen, Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College

• Chris Bobel, Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston.

The development of this course was funded by the Columbia University Provost’s Interdisciplinary Teaching Award, which funds the creation of a new course with up to $20,000.

For a complete course description and call number, click here.

To view the course syllabus, click here.

For more on the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group check out their blog, like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

LIVESTREAM: Policy and Practice in Interdisciplinary Menstrual Health

The CSSD Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group hosted an interdisciplinary day-long workshop entitled Multifaceted Menstruation that evaluated the current state of research on menstruation, with interest in examining whose voices are being represented, which actors shape the dominant narrative, whose voices are marginalized, what gaps in data, research, and policy exist, and how interdisciplinary collaboration may help remedy some of these gaps. 

A panel discussion entitled “Policy and Practice in Interdisciplinary Menstrual Health” concluded the day.

To watch the livestream video of the panel discussion, click here. 

For more information about the event, click here.

Laura Charney Reports on Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Film Screening

The Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group hosted a film screening and critical panel on the Oscar-winning documentary, Period: End of Sentence. Grad fellow for the working group, Laura Charney, discusses the analysis and criticism of the ideas established in the film by the panelists and attendees in her latest blog post for RightsViews. 

Charney writes, “Menstrual health research is often obstructed in shoddy statistics, lack of thorough qualitative data, and approaches to international development that favour implementing behavioural changes based on generalized surveys… They critiqued Period: End of Sentence on the basis of its reliance on unreliable research, perpetuation of harmful stereotypes, and iteration of a global north saviour complex.”

Read the full blog post here.

Call for Menstrual Health Project Staff Associate Applications

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Menstrual Health Project
Staff Associate

The Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) is hiring a Staff Associate with primary responsibility for supporting the Menstrual Health Project.

Project Description:

Countries around the world are developing legislative and policy frameworks on menstrual hygiene and health covering different aspects such as menstrual hygiene, de-taxing menstrual products, menstrual leave, or ensuring provision of menstrual products to specific population groups. The project seeks to review policy developments to assess how far-reaching and comprehensive they are, which populations they target, and whether policies translate into budgets and implementation measures to achieve their stated objectives. This review will be informed by human rights principles to assess whether processes are participatory, whether policies reach marginalized groups and individuals, and whether governments are accountable to their policy commitments.

Job Responsibilities:

• Conduct research to prepare a global overview of policy developments; participate in research trips and conduct interviews online and in person; draft all minutes, reports, and publications pertaining to the project; draft project documentation for dissemination and outreach such as policy briefs and infographics. (60%)

• Liaise with the Technical Advisory Group, staff at the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, partners in India, Kenya, Senegal and other countries, and other partners; design and convene the country workshops and Technical Advisory Group meetings for the project (10%)

• Coordinate and plan different phases of the project (5%)

• Draft IRB protocol for the ethical clearance of the project (5%)

• Provide other research and programmatic support to ISHR as needed (20%)

Minimum Qualifications:

• BA in international affairs, human rights, development, global studies or similar field

• A minimum of two years of experience (an MA can substitute for professional experience)

• Excellent drafting, communication, and organizational skills

• Experience conducting interviews

• Capacity to synthesize large amounts of information

• Experience working / traveling in the Global South (in particular South Asia, East and Western Africa)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in human rights, development, public policy or similar field

• Prior experience in the field of menstrual health and/or human rights

• Prior experience in conducting policy-related research and developing policy-briefs

• Knowledge of languages other than English (in particular French)

To apply, please submit your CV; cover letter detailing relevant experience and interest in menstrual health, human rights and policy analysis; writing sample ideally focused on policy analysis (max. 20 pages); and list of two references to the job posting on Columbia University’s Recruitment of Academic Personnel System (RAPS). Application review begins on Oct. 1, 2019.

Chris Bobel Quoted on the Topic of Menstrual Activism

“Shame, silence and secrecy, after all, is the root of what makes menstruation a challenge for everyone, especially those living on the margins,”says Chris Bobel, Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group faculty fellow. Read more in Equal Times here, on the topic of menstrual dignity and justice, directly related to the CSSD working group.

Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group Receives Teaching Award

The Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group is one of three winners for the annual Provost’s Interdisciplinary Teaching Award, which funds the creation of a new course with up to $20,000. The course will be taught by working group Faculty Fellows Noémie Elhadad, Lauren Houghton, Anja Tolonen, Chris Bobel and Director Inga Winkler, each from different disciplines. More information on the course, “Menstruation, Gender, and Rights: Interdisciplinary Approaches,” will be made available on course listings in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, read more here.

More on the Spring 2019 Interdisciplinary Teaching Awardees can be found here.

For more on the Menstrual Health working group check out their blog, like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

Listen to Chris Bobel on The Takeaway Podcast

Chris Bobel, Menstrual Health working group fellow and Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, along with Deborah Garlick, director of Menopause in the Workplace, joined The Takeaway podcast to discuss the glaring disparity between US and UK workplace menopause policies. In both countries, women over 45 make up a significant part of the workforce. Many such women are negatively affected by physical and psychological changes of menopause while at work. Whereas no politicians have taken up this cause in the US, in the UK politicians of both major parties have begun to address the lack of policies to help menopausal women.

Find the full podcast here.
For more on the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group visit their blog and project page.
You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Chris Bobel’s latest book is The Managed Body: Developing Girls and Menstrual Health in the Global South.

Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group Call For Submissions

NYC Interdisciplinary Workshop:
Multifaceted Menstruation

Deadline for abstracts: August 30, 2019
Date of workshop: November 22, 2019

The current momentum around menstruation has drawn together scholars, activists, policymakers, health practitioners, and corporations--each differently invested in menstrual health. Over the past year, the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group has brought together Columbia University researchers across different departments interested in menstruation, encouraging individual and collaborative research that crosses disciplinary boundaries to address complex questions. This workshop hopes to broaden that reach and support, and to facilitate further interdisciplinary collaboration and networking beyond the Columbia University community.

Information for Contributors:

This one-day workshop seeks to critically evaluate the current state of research on menstruation, with interest in examining whose voices are being represented, which actors shape the dominant narrative, whose voices are marginalized, what gaps in data, research, and policy exist, and how interdisciplinary collaboration may help remedy some of these gaps. The workshop also hopes to serve as an opportunity to make connections with menstrual health researchers in the Greater New York area.

Submissions may address research in any area of Critical Menstruation Studies that engages:

• Historical, socio-cultural, religious and political economic perspectives

• Feminist, queer, and post-colonial theory

• Science, technology, biomedical informatics, and clinical approaches

• Policy and programmatic interventions

and/or explores the following topics (list is not exhaustive):

• Menstrual hygiene management initiatives

• The emergence and implications of FemTech

• De-gendering menstruation/queering menstruation

• Menstruators of diverse identities and experiences

• Menstruation across the lifespan (puberty, menarche, menopause, etc)

• Menstrual disorders

• Menstrual health education

• Menstrual activism

• Data on menstruation

Submission Guidelines:

Researchers are invited to submit proposals for flash presentations (5 minutes, 3 power-point slides max.) on any of the above or other topics related to menstruation. We welcome submissions from all different disciplines, career levels, and stages of research. Please submit an abstract (300 words max.) and a brief bio (150 words max.) at this link. For any questions regarding submission guidelines, please email michelle.chouinard@columbia.edu.

We welcome submissions from all researchers in the Greater New York area. Please feel free to share this call with interested colleagues. Please note that we cannot provide travel support for the workshop.

For further information please visit the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group website and blog (https://periodsatcolumbia.com/) or contact Michelle Chouinard, Coordinator of the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group (michelle.chouinard@columbia.edu).

Menstrual Health Working Group Publishes Report on Developments at the UN

CSSD working group Menstrual Health and Gender Justice has published a report in Impakter highlighting the work the UN has done related to menstruation in the past year and what more is left to do. The publication was co-authored by Menstrual Health working group director and Lecturer in Human Rights at Columbia University, Inga Winkler, and Sydney Amoakoh, Human Rights MA candidate and working group fellow.  

In the article they address the key role governments play in advancing the discussion around menstrual health, noting that they are are uniquely positioned to normalize discussions on menstruation in the international community and amongst their own populations. The need for continued collaboration between different groups and sectors was also highlighted.

Read the full report here.

For more from the Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group visit their blog.

Menstrual Health Working Group Fellow Participates in the UN 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Lauren Houghton, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and fellow in CSSD working group Menstrual Health and Gender Justice, participated in the panel “Access to Menstrual Health as a Public Service: The Lived Experiences of Women and Girls.”  The event took place as part of the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The panel stressed the importance of looking at the many menstruating women and girls who belong to marginalized groups, and their lived experiences with menstruation both in and outside of the home.

During the event Dr. Lauren Houghton gave insight on exactly how States and other actors can go about achieving change through the social normalization of menstruation. She stressed that policy-makers should avoid viewing providing menstruation products as quick fixes to more complex menstrual health issues.

A full recap of the panel can be found on the Menstrual Health working group blog.