BITE Insight

It’s one of those open secrets. The knowing look you give one another as you stuff one into your pocket or clasp it in your hand, hoping the rustling plastic doesn’t give you away. You whisper, have you got one? And try to ignore the inquisitive looks when people wonder what’s exchanging hands.

This is no covert operation, no illegal exchange but rather the reality of what it’s like to be a girl or woman, trying to hide their period from the world. The feeling of embarrassment is experienced, probably, by every woman you know. But now the children’s charity, Plan International, has teamed up with AMV BBDO to combat period shame and the social stigma that surrounds menstruation. They created Plaster Pads, miniature sanitary pads to be worn as plasters, for all the world to see.

The Plaster Pads remind people that a sanitary pad and a plaster essentially have the same purpose. While one must be hidden ashamedly, the other is OK to be on show; one, people are embarrassed to even talk about while the other, no one thinks twice about. The Plaster Pads are emblazoned with powerful messages denouncing period shame and reminding people that, “blood is blood.”

The campaign was launched on International Day of the Girl, a day that both raises awareness of the challenges girls face, while also championing empowerment and human rights. Boxes were given to celebrities and influencers, who encouraged women and girls using #WeAllBleed across social media.

Shame is a feeling that is commonly associated with periods, as young girls and women struggle to come to terms with their changing bodies, and the attitudes projected onto them by society. By making a stand, however small, campaigns such as these can help make those moments of terrifying change, just that little bit easier for girls around the world.