Early this year, 10th grader Joanna Lin took it upon herself to conduct some research on the ways homeless women take care of themselves while menstruating. Her research on so-called "period poverty" led her to launch The Student Period Movement.
"Due to gaps in the menstural education programs, some [students> were not completely sure about the issues that can arise when putting on a pad for too long or having a tampon in for too long, which is the toxic shock syndrome," she said.
Lin believes the stigma begins when students are separated by gender in school to learn about puberty.
"So they're taught as children that information about menstruation and puberty are very sensitive topics that should be kept secret," Lin said.
She adds it's not only kids — but also lawmakers need more education.
"In the United States there are 31 states that still have the menstrual product tax, which says that menstrual items are considered luxury items."
She says some policymakers seem to be unaware of the socioeconomic impact of menstruation.