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Key terms of periods

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Menstruation or menses is the natural bodily process of releasing blood and associated  matter from the uterus through the vagina as part of the menstrual cycle. 

Menarche is the onset of menstruation, the time when a girl has her first menstrual

period.

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) refers to management of hygiene associated with the menstrual process. WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for  drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene has used the following definition of MHM: โ€˜Women and adolescent girls are using a clean menstrual management material to absorb or collect  menstrual blood, that can be changed in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of  a menstrual period, using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having  access to safe and convenient facilities to dispose of used menstrual management  materials. They understand the basic facts linked to the menstrual cycle and how to  manage it with dignity and without discomfort or fear1. 

Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) encompasses both MHM and the broader systemic factors that link menstruation with health, well-being, gender equality, education,  equity, empowerment, and rights. These systematic factors have been summarised by  UNESCO as accurate and timely knowledge, available, safe, and affordable materials,  informed and comfortable professionals, referral and access to health services, sanitation  and washing facilities, positive social norms, safe and hygienic disposal and advocacy and policy. 

A menstruator is a person who menstruates and therefore has menstrual health and hygiene needs โ€“ including girls, women, transgender and non-binary persons. Throughout  this guidance, the term โ€˜girls and womenโ€™ is used as a shorthand term to increase readability and refers to all menstruators regardless of gender identity. 

Menstrual hygiene materials are the products used to catch menstrual flow, such as pads, cloths, tampons or cups. 

Menstrual supplies are other supportive items needed for MHH, such as body and laundry soap, underwear and pain relief items.  

Menstrual facilities are those facilities most associated with a safe and dignified menstruation, such as toilets and water infrastructure. 

Gender refers to the roles, behaviours, activities, and attributes that a given society at agiven time considers appropriate for men and women. These attributes, opportunities andrelationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialisation processes. Theyare context- and time-specific, and are changeable. Gender determines what is expected,allowed and valued in a woman or a man in a given context. In most societies, there are differences and inequalities between women and men in responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, access to and control over resources, as well as decision-making  opportunities. Gender is part of the broader socio-cultural context, as are other important  criteria for socio-cultural analysis such as class, race, poverty level, ethnic group, sexual  orientation, age, etc2.  

Transgender (sometimes shortened to โ€˜transโ€™) is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of identities whose appearance and characteristics are perceived as gender atypical โ€”including transsexual people and people who identify as third gender.  Transgender women identify as women but were classified as males when they were  born, transgender men identify as men but were classified female when they were born,  while other trans people do not identify with the gender-binary at all3. 

Sex (biological sex) is defined as the physical and biological characteristics that distinguish males and females, such as reproductive organs, chromosomes and hormones4.

 Intersex people are born with physical or biological sex characteristics, such as sexual  

anatomy, reproductive organs, hormonal patterns and/or chromosomal patterns, which do not fit the typical sex definitions of male or female. These characteristics may be apparent  at birth or emerge later in life, often at puberty. Intersex people can have any sexual orientation and gender identity. 






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