Ep. 14 Destigmatising Menstruation: How Katrina McDonnell Changed the Law to Support Women and People with Periods

This week I have Katrina McDonnell on the pod in honour of International Women’s Day. Katrina is the founder of Menstruation Matters: a non-profit organisation doing amazing work to improve access to period products, support young people through education and destigmatise your bleed.They run period empowerment workshops, distribute free products to those that need them and successfully lobbied the government to change law in 2022. What a powerhouse of a woman!Katrina feels strongly that many of us have a lot of unlearning to do to reconnect with our bodies. The patriachy does not want us to connect to our bodies. When we understand ourselves, we can advocate for what we need and that gives us power - which the patriachy wants to hold over us. She is passionate about helping girls and women tap into their cycles because we’ve been disempowered for too long.In this episode: Katrina’s background and her first taste of activism at university in Liverpool How Menstruation Matters campaigned and changed law in March 2022 to make free period products mandatory in all public buildings in Northern Ireland Dealing with judgement as a result of the taboo, stigma and awkwardness that still exists around Menstruation Shifting attitudes towards talking about periods after being conditioned to be embarrassed about them for generations Katrina’s personal growth as a result of following her passion, her advice for women and what’s next for the organisationUpcoming Events:Fundraiser in light of International Women’s Day TONIGHT at 7pm to support Menstruation Matters. It’s called ‘Amplify Your Voice’ and it’s all about empowering you to speak your authentic truth. Please consider attending to support both yourself, and a worthy cause! Book hereOcean Breathwork session with Tension Release TherapyA really beautiful movement practice followed by a powerful breathwork practice to help you regulate your nervous system and clear the pathway to abundance of self love. Book hereNext week I’ll be talking about my experience with ayahuasca and how I became obsessed with breathwork. Please do all the usual bits and bobs to support the podcast, especially share with a friend. It makes a big difference!DM me if there’s anything you’d love for me to talk about. I love hearing from you all. This community gives me so much joy. Have a wonderful International Women's Day, chat to you next week.Follow Katrina on Instagram here.Follow Menstruation Matters on Instagram here.Music: Triple Point by Swoose