Tampon makers can help cut violence against women

New York, June 29: Manufacturers of feminine hygiene products, including tampons and sanitary products, could generate vital funds for effective programmes that prevent violence against women, say researchers led by one of Indian origin. Physical and sexual violence is a public health problem that affects more than one-third of all women, equivalent to at least a billion women globally, according to World Health Organisation (WHO). Consequences of such violence include physical injuries, psychological trauma and also results 43,500 untimely deaths a year worldwide, the researchers said.

Effective programmes and strategies to prevent domestic and sexual violence are “hugely underfunded,” said S.D. Shanti, Associate Professor at A.T. Still University in the US. The tampon making industry with its “huge market of essential goods”, could dedicate a part of their revenues to support public health programmes that prevent violence against women. Global annual sales of feminine hygiene products are projected to total $15.2 billion by 2017. On the other hand, lost productivity related to such violence against women diminishes the world’s gross domestic product by 3.7 per cent. (IANS)