Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 2 hrs ago
Girl Up Brasil to release guide on menstrual violence
Girl Up Brasil is launching a free guide on menstrual health at an online event on Thursday, Oct.
29.
The guide introduces menstrual violence, which includes medical neglect, lack of information and denial of dignified care to people who menstruate.
It is broader than menstrual poverty, which refers to lacking products, clean water or suitable toilets.
A study found only 0.5% of reviewed pain records were linked by health professionals to official diagnostic codes; the records covered 469,000 girls and women treated in Recife from 2016 to 2025.
Another study found that four in 10 Brazilian girls miss school at least once a month because of menstrual symptoms.
The guide also covers racial bias, school and workplace barriers, preparation for a first period, pain care and how to discuss menstruation.
The guide will be available to download free from Girl Up Brasil’s website after its launch.
Girl Up Brasil will launch a free guide about menstrual violence at an online event on Thursday, October 29.
The guide explains how medical neglect, lack of information and denial of dignified care can affect people who menstruate.
It is aimed at young people and includes information on menstruation, managing symptoms and a menstrual diary.
The guide was developed from questions and discussions among young people in Girl Up Brasil clubs.
A study of Recife health records found that professionals linked only 0.5% of analyzed menstrual-pain records to official disease codes.
- Who
- Girl Up Brasil is releasing the guide, which is aimed at young people.
- What
- The organization is launching a guide about menstrual violence and menstrual health.
- When
- Thursday, October 29. The article was published on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- The launch will be online. The guide will be available for free download from Girl Up Brasil’s website.
- Why
- The guide aims to provide information about menstruation, including care and ways to address physical and emotional pain.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A study analyzed records for 469,000 girls and women aged 10 to 49 treated in Recife’s municipal health network.
Girl Up Brasil is due to launch the guide at an online event.
- Launch date
- Thursday, October 29
- Download
- Free from Girl Up Brasil’s website
- Study sample
- 469,000 girls and women aged 10 to 49
- Study period
- 2016–2025
- Menstrual-pain records
- 0.5% were linked by health professionals to official disease codes
- Girl Up Brasil clubs
- Present in 14 Brazilian states
What people are saying
Menstrual poverty is very much linked to access to rights and managing menstruation. But menstrual violence has another dimension when emancipatory education about menstruation is denied, when pain is dismissed and girls are left unprotected.
I came to think that menstruating was a punishment for everything I had been through in this life.
When I got my first period, I didn’t know what it was. I saw the blood and thought I was sick, that I was going to die. Today the situation is even funny, but that day I cried in desperation.