O papel do design na luta contra a pobreza menstrual no Brasil

Abstract

Menstrual poverty is characterized by the lack of resources, knowledge, sanitary structure, taboos and economics. This demeaning situation affects girls and women worldwide, and it leads to poor conditions such as few access to menstrual products and cultural invalidation of this physical and emotional process. With the advance of science and technology, there's an assumption that menstrual poverty only affects low income countries, thus a problem that does not affect Brazilian society. However, around the world, one out of ten students miss classes during their period by lack of resources and hygiene conditions. In Brazil, this number is even more concerning - one out of four girls have missed school because they didn't have tampons or pads (ONU, 2013). According to Mario Fioretti (2015), "design is the ability to understand a problem or an opportunity, look for innovating and coherent alternatives for the ones involved, test the concept and enforce it". Therefore, this project came to learning and comprehending how menstrual poverty affects women in Brazilian society. Using concepts found in public health, history and economics, it was developed an act to fight menstrual poverty. In Parque Shopping Maceio, a mall in Alagoas, Brazil, was held a fundraising, where people would donate pads, tampons and personal hygiene items to Centro de Defesa dos Direitos da Mulher, a center focused on women's issues. Thus, it was applied concepts found in design premises, in which design is a tool for social and human development. The project was based on Design Thinking, using the Duplo Diamante method (2005). As a result, this subject had greater visibility, it was possible to collaborate to an important cause and the donations helped several women from Centro de Defesa dos Direitos da Mulher.