Webinar - Breaking the Blood Taboo: Faith Communities as Allies in Menstrual Hygiene & Period Poverty
The World Council of Churches (WCC), together with the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development and Norwegian Church Aid, invites church leaders, youth leaders, faith-based facility managers, and menstrual health advocates to join a 90-minute online webinar on Thursday, 4 June 2026.
This is the fifth year the webinar has run. It takes place in the days following International Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed every 28 May worldwide since 2014, and it begins where that day leaves off: in the corridor between moral commitment and institutional reality.
“In the United Kingdom, 20% of the menstruating population cannot afford hygiene products. That rises to 25% and 33% among US teens and adults. Lack of access to water and basic sanitation morphs into a global crisis fuelled by the stigma imposed on the vulnerable,” said Rev. Nicole Ashwood, WCC programme executive for a Just Community of Women and Men. “The church must take a stand for the sake of our women and girls, whose reproductive, hygiene and mental health are at risk.”
“Breaking the Blood Taboo” addresses that gap directly. Medical and dignity perspectives, the environmental cost of disposable products, and theological affirmation of the body across faith traditions each shape the discussion. Faith leaders share practical success stories, from low-cost disposal units to free dispensers installed in church restrooms, and a new WCC advocacy briefing offers a step-by-step checklist for communities ready to follow their example.
Discussions will focus on:
- Period poverty and its global reach, with particular attention to communities in the Global South
- Sustainable menstrual products as a creation care imperative for stewards of creation
- Practical WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) commitments for faith-based facilities
The webinar is organised by various WCC programmes: Ecumenical Water Network, Health and Healing, Just Community of Women and Men, and the Young People in the Ecumenical Movement.
International Menstrual Hygiene Day
UN Women — Period poverty: why millions of girls and women cannot afford their periods
