While we all like to complain about having to go through our period every month, it’s a completely different experience when you don’t have access to the pads and tampons that allow you to go on with daily life (albeit in a little pain).
In fact, according to Share The Dignity, 1 in 5 Australian women are forced to ‘improvise’ when their monthly bleed happens due to the cost of period products.
Yes, period poverty is real. And it is rife in Australia.
It’s a devastating statistic, which delivery service Uber Eats is trying to combat. They recently collaborated with Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan on a campaign that announced period products were able to be shopped on the platform.
Now, the partnership has gone a step further, with women’s services network WESNET linking up with Uber Eats and Coughlan, culminating in a promise that Uber Eats will donate one period product for every period product sold via the Uber Eats app from today until the end of the year. These donations will go to WESNET and also the donation program run through Share the Dignity.
It couldn’t come at a more important time, as cost of living pressures rise and the expense of purchasing enough period products to meet cycle demand becomes more difficult.
The campaign with Coughlan aims to get more Aussies purchasing their period products through Uber Eats, and thus support the donation scheme as a whole.
“I wanted to use my involvement with Uber Eats to both showcase the availability of period relief products on the app but also to raise awareness about the very real barriers to accessing these important items for women, girls and people who menstruate right across Australia. I really hope that the campaign will have a positive impact long after my commercials have stopped airing,” said Coughlan.
Before the filming of the campaign commenced, the actor and the Uber Eats team knew that it needed to go beyond a hilarious commercial. It needed to make a dent in the period poverty at play in this country.
“We always want our Uber Eats campaigns to bring joy and drive business impact but this time it’s different,” Uber’s Senior Director, Head of International Marketing Lucinda Barlow. “I know the entire team is super focused on this being a success because every period product purchased on the Uber Eats app will generate another for people who might not be able to afford one and we want to help as many people access these essential products as we can.”
This is a continuation of Uber’s relationship with WESNET, having previously offered Uber rides to women escaping domestic violence.
“Uber has long supported WESNET by providing hundreds of women escaping violence access to free rides through our network of specialist domestic and family violence services,” said CEO of WESNET Karen Bentley.
On the collaboration with Coughlan, Share The Dignity’s founder Rochelle Courtenay could not be more proud.
“This collaboration with Uber Eats and world-renowned actress, Nicola Coughlan, is truly a game-changer in many facets as we work to normalise periods and end the shame and stigma. It’s an exciting time for menstruators everywhere, as getting period products dropped straight to your door and helping someone in need at the same time becomes a reality,” said Founder of Share the Dignity, Rochelle Courtenay.
Download the Uber Eats app to get started.
