Menstruation Matters
Menstruation Matters is an LJMU EDI funded project to understand the impact of menstruation and periods on LJMU student attendance, participation and wellbeing as part of their student journey. The research team are currently working on responding to the research findings through actions on campus and developing research publications.
As part of our commitment to students being at the heart of everything we do at LJMU, a number of improvements to supporting students who have periods have been actioned following this research project. You can find out more on our menstruation and periods webpage which contains information on support available, location of free products and content developed by LJMU students.
LJMU is committed to supporting students who have periods, recognising they impact everyone differently. Students who participated in the research shared the impact of their period on their university life and in some cases, how having conditions like PMDD, endometriosis and ADHD made managing their menstrual cycle more challenging.
Students were keen to increase the visibility of menstruation on campus, and promote an acknowledgement that menstruation has both mental and physical impacts. Students shared feelings of anxiety, worries about leaks, low mood, brain fog, pain, feeling anti-social, emotional and less academically productive.
Results found students are keen that menstruation is talked about more openly on campus, so it becomes normalised as a topic, especially in friendship groups. Currently students who have periods expressed it can still feel an isolating experience but were keen that it should not carry guilt or stigma. There was a lack of understanding on support available from the University, and this is something the University are already working on improving.
Research findings and resources
Menstruation Matters - Exploring stigma and the disparity of menstruation experiences for University students in relation to attendance, participation, wellbeing and sustainable product choices.
Through our research we identified a number of challenges students encounter during their periods:
- 28% of LJMU students said that they missed a University activity or event (academic, sporting or social) at least once a month due to their menstruation.
- 44% of LJMU students said that the free products on campus do not currently meet their needs.
- 39% of students said that current University facilities enabled them to manage their menstruation comfortably whilst on campus.
- 56% of students said that they would be uncomfortable or very uncomfortable speaking to academic staff about any menstruation related issues or challenges that were impacting their academic studies.
- 33% of students said they felt LJMU currently took menstrual health seriously.
Download the menstruation matters poster (PDF, 933KB)
Supporting students during menstruation
As well as resources for fellow students, our student co-researchers also developed a resource for staff to better understand how to support students during menstruation.
Create supportive environment: By creating a supportive and welcoming environment within your lectures and seminars, students will feel more comfortable in university, especially during their menstruation.
Flexibility with attendance: 71% of female students at LJMU reported they missed lectures due to their periods. If you notice students missing classes due to theirs, please be mindful its due to the pain and discomfort their experiencing.
Allowing easy bathroom access: Students reported they worried about attending their lectures and seminars while menstruating, as they struggle to change products during the short breaks. Therefore, making students aware they can leave to use the toilet during sessions would help to prevent this.
Signposting: By signposting students to the student wellbeing team and their personal tutors, they can get the additional ongoing support they may need for persistent challenges due to menstruation.
Download the Supporting students during menstruation poster (PDF, 80.8KB)
Promote positive messages around periods
56% of students say that they feel uncomfortable about speaking to academic staff about any menstruation related issues but have suggested if there was less stigma and shame towards the topic, they would feel more comfortable to.
Project staff
The project has been developed by a team of academic staff and student co-researchers (Beth, Molly and Macy).
- Dr Katie Neary
- Dr Gemma Dale
- Dr Hannah Wilson
- Dr Scott Foster
- Dr Emanuela Girei