From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the world is commemorating 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
Gender-based violence has many aspects, from physical to psychological to using digital platforms as a form of harassment. But preventing women and girls from having access to education, healthcare and menstrual products is also a form of violence.
Barbados is pleased to be a part of a movement to ensure that trade, health, and human rights can work in tandem, especially for women and girls. At a time when trade has been at the top of the headlines it is important to remember that trade is ultimately about people and about getting the goods and services from the people that supply them to the people that demand and need them. Trade has to be seen as something tangible, and there is no better example of how, if properly regulated, trade can work for people than ensuring women and girls have access to menstrual hygiene products.
Resolution 56/11 of the Human Rights Council, adopted in July 2024, framed menstrual health as a fundamental component of the right to health and calls for universal access to affordable, safe, and clean menstrual hygiene products. It also calls on states to eliminate or reduce all taxes on menstrual hygiene management products, including sanitary pads.
Barbados has been among the leaders in advancing menstrual equity. On April 1, 2022, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from all sanitary products as part of a broader initiative to zero-rate essential care items and reduce period poverty. This measure made menstrual products more affordable for women and girls across Barbados.
Before VAT removal, menstrual products consumed a disproportionate share of monthly household budgets, particularly for low-income families. Civil society assessments in Barbados found that some women and girls missed school, work, or public activities because they could not consistently afford pads or tampons. As in many other territories, some women and girls resorted to unsafe substitutes, such as unhygienic cloth, tissue, or extended use of single products, putting their health at risk. The VAT reform was a decisive step toward ensuring that no woman or girl in Barbados must choose between basic needs and menstrual dignity.
Across the Caribbean, the story is similar. Regional surveys indicate that 1 in 4 girls have missed school due to lack of menstrual products, and over 30% of low-income households struggle to purchase them regularly.
The good news is that there is a wave of change across the region. Increased advocacy and growing recognition that menstrual health is essential for gender equality, well-being, and economic participation has seen other countries like Guyana, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago remove VAT or reduce taxes on menstrual products.
However, despite these national gains, external pressures continue to threaten progress. The Caribbean remains deeply import-dependent, particularly for menstrual hygiene products. This means that any shifts in global trade dynamics, production costs, or supply chain disruptions have immediate and significant consequences for affordability and accessibility in our region. When import costs rise, due to factors entirely outside our control, prices increase at the community level, potentially undermining years of work to reduce period poverty.
Higher prices push more women and girls into menstrual poverty, increase reliance on unsafe alternatives, and directly affect health, dignity, education, and workforce participation. Vulnerable groups, including adolescent girls, women with disabilities, and women working in the informal economy, bear the heaviest burden.
Supply chain fragility compounds these challenges. Import delays, reduced product lines, or market withdrawal by companies limit consumer choice and create shortages. In small island economies, even minor disruptions can have big social and economic impacts.
This is not simply a trade or supply chain issue. It is a gender equality issue, a public health issue, and a human rights issue.
As we look ahead, standardised global approaches to menstrual products are essential, approaches that safeguard affordability, strengthen quality and safety standards, and ensure consistent access for all who need them. Diplomacy must play a central role in shaping these frameworks.
Barbados will work with like minded states to have dialogue with the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization and other multilateral forums to ensure menstrual products are clearly delineated, have clear HS codes ascribed to them, are included as essential goods, and considered for exemption from escalating tariffs.
This is critical not only for our region, but for millions of women and girls around the world who cannot afford to bear the burden of trade policies beyond their control.
Barbados chairs the WTO working group on MSMEs, and we were able to recently shine a spotlight on this issue. In partnership with the UN Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, we were able to give a platform to a micro-company based in Uganda called Afri pads to share their story with the WTO constituency. This then led to a discussion on menstrual health products in the margins of the technical barriers to trade committee. Along with partners like Canada, the UK and Costa Rica, Barbados will continue to advocate for these issues on the agenda.
Let us use our collective voice to ensure that menstrual health is fully integrated into global trade and quality systems, because protecting access to safe, affordable menstrual products is fundamental to protecting the dignity and wellbeing of half the world’s population. As we solemnly reflect on 16 days of activism around eliminating violence against women let us also identify those quick wins that can have real benefits on the ground.
Matthew Wilson is the Ambassador of Barbados to the United Nations, World Trade Organisation and other International Organisations in Geneva and is a Member of the Global Board of International Gender Champions and a Board Member of the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI).