A new program has been launched by the South Australian Government to help change the narrative of periods and remove the associated stigma by encouraging open, supportive and informed conversation across all sports domains.
Game Changing. Period. will be run by Active Inclusion with support from Volleyball SA, Netball SA, Football SA and Pelvic Pain Foundation Australia.
The State Government has pledged almost $450,000 over two years through the Active State Collaboration program to deliver this program.
By challenging the taboo sometimes associated with speaking about periods, the program promotes increased and continued participation along with a more inclusive and successful sports landscape in South Australia, said Recreation, Sport and Racing Minister, Katrine Hildyard.
“I am incredibly proud to see this program commence and excited that it will drive positive change and break barriers,” the Minister said.
“Athletes have periods. This means that they sometimes need to contemplate the availability of facilities and period products, uniform choices (with white shorts needing to be a thing of the past!) and the ease with which conversations happen with coaches, teammates, and trainers about periods.
“Our State Government is utterly committed to helping to advance equality. We are determined that South Australia be a place where girls and women can equally and actively participate in the sport they love and are supported to do so – whatever time of the month it happens to be – period!
“By changing the narrative around periods, normalising discussion about them and removing stigma through encouraging open, supportive and informed conversation, this program will make a difference in the lives of women, in the culture of clubs across South Australia, to dropout rates amongst girls and women and to the overall health and wellbeing of people in our state,” she said.
The project’s aims include to:
* Develop training modules, club resources and policy templates to support a state-wide menstruation in sport education campaign;
* Deliver training to a minimum of 3,000 sports participants; and
*Drive a social media campaign to change attitudes about menstruation and raise awareness of and access to program resources.
Game Changing. Period. builds on the I’m an Athlete. Period. menstruation and sports campaign delivered in 2022.
For more information, visit:Â https://gamechangingperiod.com.au/.
