Health authorities have used International Women’s Day to argue for removing the cost of menstruation.

The peak body for obstetrics and gynaecology has called for government action to enable free access for women and girls to sanitary products.

In Australia, more than three million people, or one-in-eight, live below the poverty line. Over half of this number are women and girls who live with the recurring costs of menstruation despite their financial situation.

Factors such as childbearing, unpaid care work and superannuation stalling, place women at increased risk of experiencing sustained poverty.

Women who are a single parent, experiencing violence, homelessness, living through natural disaster or in female-led households are even more vulnerable.

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) president, Dr Vijay Roach says; “No woman or girl should have to compromise their health or confidence because they cannot afford the products they need to stay healthy. Around the world there are movements to end period poverty and we should be following suit”.

RANZCOG says removing the cost of menstruation is a step towards forging a truly gender equal world.