Statewide survey seeks input on access to menstrual products and menstrual health in Hawaiʻi
Posted: June 10, 2026
In partnership with the Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women, Ma’i Movement Hawai’i launched a new statewide survey examining menstrual poverty across the islands.
The survey, whose deadline is June 30, is a five-year follow-up study to the 2021 government report, Understanding Period Poverty in Hawaiʻi. This survey seeks to understand:
- How period product access, menstrual health awareness, and menstruator experiences have changed over time
- How legislative action has impacted individuals
- Identify where menstrual equity gaps still exist
“When we released the first survey in 2021, nearly one in three households struggled to access period products and young people in Hawaiʻi told us they were using newspapers, baby diapers and plants,” said Nikki-Ann Yee, co-founder of Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi. “Five years later, we need to understand what barriers still remain. This survey is how we keep menstruators at the center of the policy that affects them.”
Yee, who was honored with HSTA’s Friend of Youth Award in 2022 for her work with Maʻi Movement, worked closely with HSTA’s Human and Civil Rights Committee Members to help pass historic legislation in 2022 to provide free menstrual products in all Hawaiʻi public and charter schools.
“For years, students would stay home or leave school early because they didn’t have access to period products,” said Sarah Kern, a teacher at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School and member of HSTA’s Civil and Human Rights Committee. “Research and advocacy efforts like this survey have helped expand access to essential menstrual products and reduce stigma across Hawaiʻi. I hope we can bring equity to all menstruators across the state.”
The survey aims to gather experiences from communities across Hawaiʻi to help inform future programs, resource distribution efforts and policy recommendations.
Share your manaʻo by completing the survey by June 30.