NEW HAVEN, CONN., OCTOBER 10, 2024 -- More than three-quarters of Americans believe that period supplies should be available free-of-charge at public schools and public universities. A new poll conducted by YouGov for the Alliance for Period Supplies found that 76.5 percent of those surveyed either “agreed” or “strongly agreed” with a statement that menstrual supplies like pads and tampons should be freely available in these settings. When responses were broken down by various factors, such as age, gender and political affiliation, all demographic subgroups showed a clear majority backing free period supplies in schools.

“Putting period supplies in schools may seem controversial because of the objections of a few very vocal outliers,” said Alliance for Period Supplies CEO Joanne Samuel Goldblum. “But a strong majority of Americans recognize that period supplies are school supplies. Placing them in restrooms is a solid strategy to keep all students attending when they are on their periods, to promote good health and hygiene, and to fight against stigma around a perfectly natural bodily function.”

A majority of female (83.2 percent) and male (69.5 percent) respondents favored free period supplies in school bathrooms. Democrats (90.1 percent), Republicans (62.1 percent) and Independents (74.6 percent) all supported the practice. Though people of all income levels favored dispensing these products for free in schools, support was highest among those earning less than $30,000 annually (84 percent) and those earning $150,000 and up (82.7 percent). Support was stronger among adults with children in their households (83.1 percent), but nearly three out of four adults without children were also in favor (74.3 percent). A majority of those citing religion as “very important” in their lives support period supplies in school restrooms (72.2 percent), and support was even stronger among those who say religion is not important to them at all (81.6 percent).

“People expect that when they use a public restroom, basic necessities like toilet paper, soap, and paper towels will be available,” said Kelley E.C. Massengale, director of research and statistics at the Alliance for Period Supplies. “When people use a public restroom and find any of these basic supplies to be missing, they may even speak up, letting someone in charge know that one of these items needs to be replenished. The results of this poll show overwhelming support for also including the basic necessities of period products in the restrooms of the buildings where students are learning. No matter what characteristics we looked at, the majority of Americans believe that students should have access to period products at school.”

Two in five people who need period supplies have struggled to buy them, a survey by U by Kotex found. The same study found that more than a third of people who menstruate had to miss school, work or a similar activity in the previous year because they did not have the products to manage their periods.

The Alliance for Period Supplies and its member organizations advocate around the country for the free provision of period supplies in schools. “We’re seeing more state-level victories every year,” said Alliance for Period Supplies Director of Government Relations Lacey Gero. “These campaigns are strengthened by the advocacy of students themselves, who know first-hand that period supplies are school supplies.”

Poll Study Sample:

The Alliance for Period Supplies partnered with YouGov, an internationally recognized market research group, to survey a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. YouGov deployed a sampling frame representative of the adults living in the country based on data from multiple sources including: the United States Census’ American Community Survey, public voter file records, the Current Population Survey, the National Election Pool exit poll, and the Cooperative Election Study. The final sample of poll respondents included N=1,000 adults  matched to the sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The margin of error is +/- 3.5. Sampling occurred August 22 - 26, 2024.

About the Alliance for Period Supplies:

The Alliance for Period Supplies leads a national network of more than 140 independent, community-based nonprofits working to end period poverty in the U.S. It was founded in 2018, as a program of the National Diaper Bank Network, and with the support of founding sponsor U by Kotex®.