More than Tampons, Pads, and Cups: A Human Rights Perspective on Menstrual Health

A discussion with Professor Inga Winkler.

The last several years have brought tremendous attention to menstruation and menstrual health—from ‘free bleeding’, to abolishing the tampon tax, to new menstrual products and menstrual apps, and policy developments in a range of countries. The talk will consider these developments on menstrual health through the lens of human rights and substantive equality with a focus on marginalized populations.

Dr. Inga Winkler is a lecturer at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University. She teaches the Senior Seminar in Human Rights and International Human Rights Law, and she developed new courses on Socio-Economic Rights and UN Human Rights Bodies. Previously, she has been in residence as a visiting scholar the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU, at Stellenbosch (South Africa) and Berkeley. From 2009 to 2014 she was the Legal Adviser to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, who was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.