If you see any landmarks in Metro Vancouver or around B.C. shining bright red today, know it’s for a bloody good reason.
Wednesday marks Menstrual Health Day, and over 60 landmarks across Canada will be shining red in solidarity. In B.C. alone, 17 landmarks will shine as part of the day, including city halls around Metro Vancouver and some notable event venues.
You can find a full list of venues further down this post.
The subject remains a highly taboo one. To understand why, we connected with Hisha Javeri, an advocacy and partnership coordinator at The Period Purse.
The Period Purse, an organization headquartered in Toronto, aims to combat period poverty. What’s period poverty, you ask? We’ll tell you even if you didn’t ask. Put simply, period poverty is when someone can’t afford the menstrual products they need, and a 2023 study revealed that one in six people who menstruate struggle to afford period products in Canada.
“Period poverty isn’t just about having access to the products; it can impact someone’s ability to go to school, work, or participate in their community,” Javeri told Daily Hive.
“On Menstrual Health Day on May 28, and every day, we’re reminding people that period poverty is real, and that we all have a role to play in challenging the stigma and making change.”
We also asked why this stigma remains so prevalent and what allies, particularly men, can do to change it.
“Right now, education around menstruation is often bare minimum. A lot of folks remember learning about periods in school in a class that was often split by gender, with information that felt more clinical than tangible and real,” Javeri says.
She added that there is still a long way to go in educating students about periods in schools.
“It rarely covered the emotional, social, or economic sides of menstruation, or even acknowledged the fact that not only girls get periods.”
A 2020 survey from Plan International Canada revealed that only 46 per cent of Canadians feel comfortable even just talking about periods.
Whether it’s knowingly or unwittingly, men play a big role in keeping the period stigma going.
“Whether that’s through jokes, discomfort, or just not engaging in the topic at all. But the flip side is, they also have so much power to change the culture,” Javeri says.
Javeri says men should listen without judgment and recognize that periods aren’t just a “women’s issue.”
“It’s something that concerns so many people. This can be as simple as not flinching when you hear the word ‘period’ or picking up a box of pads at the store without making a joke. These small moments signal that periods aren’t something to be embarrassed by.”
Javeri adds that people in power or influence should use that power to make sure their place of work or community has free products available in the washroom. The Period Purse can help in that quest.
We also asked if governments could do more, and Javeri said that the federal government has been offering support through the Ministry for Women and Gender Equality, which has provided funding to help expand research and grow programs.
B.C. and Metro Vancouver landmarks that’ll be lit red
Across the province and Metro Vancouver, these are the landmarks that will be illuminated in red. Additional locales will raise flags and also announce proclamations.
Metro Vancouver
- Burnaby City Hall
- Burnaby: B.C. Parkway
- Coquitlam: LaFarge Lake
- Coquitlam: Pinetree Way
- New Westminster City Hall
- Port Coquitlam City Hall
- Vancouver Convention Centre
- Vancouver: Northern Lights
- Vancouver Science World
- White Rock City Pier
Around the province
- Maple Ridge City Hall
- Nanaimo: Bastion
- Trail: Victoria Street Bridge
- Victoria City Hall
- Victoria: Royal B.C. Museum
- Victoria: Legislative Assembly of B.C.
- Whistler: Fitzgibbons Covered Bridge
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