Conference Series 2022 – 2024
On June 1st 2022 at the University of Aberdeen, the MRN was delighted to host the first of three Wellcome-funded conferences.
As a whole these conferences seek to enable menstrual experts across disciplines in and out of academia, and from across the world, to network and collaborate on themes of policy, activist, legal and public interest concerning menstruation.
The first conference explored the broad theme of menstruation, policy, rights and the law. This one-day hybrid event comprised of a full day of research papers,and opportunities to discuss future collaboration, funding, and key research questions. See below for more details.
Our second conference will take place at the Univeristy of St Andrews on May 26 2023. Please see below for details.
Third Annual Conference of the Menstruation Research Network (UK)
Inclusive Menstruation: Practice, Research, Action
Wednesday 29th May 2024
Liverpool John Moores University
Funded by the Wellcome Trust
Second Annual Conference of the Menstruation Research Network (UK)
Menstruation & Sustainability
Friday 26th May 2023
University of St Andrews
Keynote performance by artist Jay Critchley (Miss Tampon Liberty)
Funded by the Wellcome Trust
Project Outcomes
Latest News
June 1st 2022 – MRN conference at Aberdeen University
Dr Camilla Mørk Røstvik
Last week, we organised the Menstruation Research Network UK’s annual conference at the University of Aberdeen. It was a wonderful day with brilliant speakers covering every aspect of menstrual policy, law and rights from across the globe.
Our keynote speaker Scheaffer Okore inspired us to ‘overcome a myopic gendered approach of throwing pads at the problem. We need an intersectional approach’. This includes the meeting points between academia and NGOs – working together makes the menstrual health space stronger, but we must also hold each other accountable. Thank you, Okore, for such a brilliant talk!
In our first panel (Global Politics), speakers shared insight into menstrual policies and policy-experimentation in Japan (Fiona Creaser, Naomi Yukimaru, Rosemary Reader, Miwako Eto, Kazuhiro Kawamura), Nepal (Stefanie Lotter, Madhusudan Subedi, Sara Parker, Kay Standing, Neeti Aryal Khanal, Sara Baumann, BK Shresta, Tabea Seizm, Jyotika Rimal), and across Africa (Goodness Odey, Bridgit Chepkoech Kurgat, Emmanuella Nxeribe, Abenmire Adi, Samar Mohammed Alhaj, Josephine Ndapewoshali Amesho, Don elieso Lucero-Prisno III).
Next, speakers covering Strategies in the Global North and the Global South, explored the role of natural disaster management (Srijani Roy), comparative politics (Maria Carmen Punzi), and discrimination (Clara Schweiser, Mirabelle Boehm, Radha Paudel).
In the following panel on Menstrual Stigma and Discrimination, Kate Molyneaux shared new research on lived experience of menstrual stigma in Scotland, Inga Winkler offered a critical analysis of menstrual policy initiatives, Marcy Karin outlined the issues of comparative menstrual discrimination at work from a legal scholarly framework, Margaret Johnson analysed the issue of surveilling menstruators and their bodies, and Dr Sally King shared new insight on menstrual leave.
After the break, we had a panel focused on the Period Products (Free Provision) Act in Scotland. Bettina Bildhauer and Fiona McKay offered analysis of Scotland’s role, while Aino Koskenniemi provided a Finnish comparative perspective, and Lottie Rhodes asked who benefitted from the English menstrual policies of the 2020s.
In our last panel on Menstruation, Policy and Law in the US, Dr. Saniya Lee Ghanoui spoke about Title IX and menstrual education, Bridget Crawford and Emily Gold Waldman shared insight (from their new book Menstruation Matters) about menstrual equity in the US as a cross-generational movement, Sharra Vostral introduced the idea of the ‘menstrualscape’ as a conceptual tool, and Jamie McConnell offered an analysis of menstrual product ingredients and the law.
Overall, it was a packed day full of new research, new connections and the joys of hybrid conference making! As the organisers, we can only hope that the speakers felt inspired, and that they will reach out to at least one person they did not know about beforehand. We hope this is the start of many new collaborations!