Menstrual product safety concerns: Experts reassure while activists demand change.
Image: UNSPLASH
A new study detecting traces of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in menstrual products has sparked anxiety among South African women and ignited a fierce debate about safety, regulation and women's rights.
While medical experts are urging calm, gender-justice activists say the findings expose something far deeper.
Dr Nasreen Akoo and Dr Tennille Thomas stressed that there is no immediate cause for alarm.
"At present, there is no conclusive evidence that standard menstrual products directly cause long-term disease in women," they said.
The University of the Free State (UFS) study found small amounts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in certain products. However, exposure levels were reportedly within accepted safety margins.
"Importantly, the researchers reported that the levels detected and the estimated daily exposure doses fell within safe ranges."
Still, the long-term implications of repeated exposure remain under scrutiny.
"These findings highlight the need for stronger regulatory oversight, clearer ingredient transparency, and further long-term studies so that consumers can make informed decisions - particularly given the repeated nature of menstrual product use over a lifetime," said the doctors.
They also warned that weak oversight disproportionately affects vulnerable communities.
"As the study highlights, insufficient regulation and safety oversight of menstrual products has the greatest impact on marginalised groups, who already have restricted access to safer alternatives, and this is contributing to period poverty in South Africa."
Despite rising fear online, the doctors emphasised that products remain essential.
"While this has understandably cast doubt and uncertainty on the safety of pads and pantyliners, as previously mentioned, there is no conclusive evidence of harm caused by these products in isolation. They are essential, and many women/menstruators rely on accessible, affordable products."
On health concerns, they were unequivocal: "There are no specific symptoms that can be attributed to menstrual product exposure alone.
"At this stage, we can't define a clear or exposure threshold linking menstrual product use to specific health conditions."
But for Women For Change, the issue goes beyond toxicology, it touches the heart of bodily autonomy.
Spokesperson Cameron Kasambala did not mince her words.
"So, I think this is a very important study because I think it brings about an overlooked section of gender-based violence, which is medical malpractice and research that is lacking on women's care."
She framed the issue as part of a broader struggle against systems that control women's bodies.
"And I think this is actually something that is important in the gender-based violence space, because at its core, our work is about defending bodily autonomy. It's about fighting against systems that exert power and control over women's bodies without our consent."
Kasambala went further, describing the situation in stark terms.
"To us, this is a form of structural violence. It is a slow, hidden violation of our health, perpetuated by a system that prioritises profit over our safety."
For the organisation, transparency is non-negotiable.
They argue that decades of stigma around menstruation have allowed corporations to operate with minimal scrutiny, placing products inside women’s bodies for years, sometimes more than four decades, with little public awareness of what they contain.
Medical experts say endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenols and parabens are found in many everyday products, from cosmetics to packaging, and that risk depends on dose, duration and cumulative exposure.
Additional reporting by Kayla Dercksen.
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