Each year, menstruating people in Wisconsin are taxed over $2.7 million in just tampons and pads because they are deemed as non-essential goods and are taxed up to 5%, thereby implying that menstrual hygiene is necessary and actually a luxury. At the same time, however, hygiene products like Viagra, birth control pills, and spermicidal condoms are exempt from said taxes. Menstrual hygiene is a right, not a privilege.

And when we say it’s a right, we mean it. The United Nations Human Rights Watch views access to clean, safe, and affordable menstrual products as a human right; because a simple biological factor should never be a barrier to equality. No one should ever have to choose between putting food on the table and managing their period healthily. In Wisconsin, over half of the population menstruates, and the tampon tax only adds unwarranted financial pressure for these individuals.

We are calling on Wisconsin legislators and Governor Tony Evers to pass the 2019 Senate Bill 676, which exempts taxes for the sales of diapers, undergarments, tampons, and sanitary napkins.

Sign this petition, share it with your friends, and join the Menstrual Movement in creating change for millions of menstruating people and demanding systemic change towards gender equality.