From a simple idea sparked in 2015 to a nationwide movement fighting period poverty, Share the Dignity has been at the forefront of creating real change.
Through Dignity Drives, the iconic It’s in the Bag campaign, and advocacy that helped abolish the period tax, we have transformed access to period products across Australia, and we're just getting started.
Looking back at what we have achieved over these last 10 years has been an incredible reminder of how far we’ve come, but also how far we still have to go on our mission to end period poverty in Australia.
Over the last decade together we have:
- Collected over 1 million It’s in the Bag donations
- Collected over 5 million period products
- Installed over 1,000 Dignity Vending Machines
- Have over 3,300 extraordinary volunteers
- Have over 3,000 charity partners
We couldn’t do any of this without our community. From likes on our social posts and spreading the word, to It’s in the Bag donations, packing parties and Dignity Drive donations. An especially huge thank you to our incredible volunteers who tirelessly and selflessly give their time and heart to our mission and to our wonderful charity partners whose support we are so grateful for.
All the different ways that you support us has gotten us to where we are today, and where we are going tomorrow. So for that, we thank you!
Rochelle was heartbroken and infuriated by this and decided to do something about it. At the time Rochelle was a personal trainer and collected a packet of period products for every glass of wine her clients had. In her first collection, she collected 450 packets! This was the start of a national movement.
A Facebook post requesting donations of period products went viral and Rochelle’s mission gained some serious momentum. By August that same year, over 200,000 period products had been distributed as part of the very first national Dignity Drive. It’s in the Bag made its debut in November 2015, calling on people to fill a spare bag they have at home with kind and essential items to share with homeless people for Christmas. Charities were overjoyed and grateful for this initiative, with a very appreciative recipient saying, “I received the gift of a bag, you have no idea how priceless it was”.
Over 22,000 It’s in the Bag donations were made in this first year, and every year from then on thousands of women, girls and those who menstruate have received a bag at Christmas time. Since then, Share the Dignity, alongside our incredible volunteers, corporate partners and supporters, have worked to ensure everyone is afforded the dignity in life that so many of us take for granted. Access to period products is a right, not a privilege.
The year is 2016 and we installed our first Dignity Vending Machine at McDonald’s in Bracken Ridge, QLD.
When Rochelle, Share the Dignity’s founder, learnt of women, girls and those who menstruate resorting to using wadded up toilet paper, hand towels and socks to manage their period, she was appalled. This was not okay, and so Rochelle made it her mission to find a solution to this.
Our Dignity Vending Machines, or DVM’s, were created to provide dignified and free access to period products. At the push of a button, our DVM dispenses a free period pack of either a multi-pack or pad-only pack, in the hope of getting the menstruator through their day, with the products of their choice. We now have DVM’s installed at over 1,000 locations nationwide across schools, community centres, libraries, shelters, hospitals and workplaces.
These DVM’s are changing lives everyday by offering free access to period products to those in need, discreetly and with dignity
The year is 2017 and Rochelle said, “drop a bag, have a snag!”
By 2017 #ItsintheBag had been up and running for a couple of years and had been garnering some serious momentum, but it was only when Bunnings jumped on board did it really pick up speed.
This incredible partnership came about from a social post by Rochelle, Share the Dignity's founder, calling on our supporters to help us get Bunnings’ attention for a dream partnership that would provide collection points at all their stores nationwide. Rochelle’s dream turned into a reality when Bunnings agreed to partner with us as the national collection point for our annual #ItsintheBag campaign, and they have been bloody legends ever since.
Bunnings now also offer virtual bag donations for online shoppers, whereby a bag is packed by us on behalf of you, as part of our Sponsor a Bag program.
We are so grateful for the support of Bunnings and their workers who assist our supporters and volunteers.
The year is 2018 and we were pivotal in axing the period tax!
Can you believe that period products used to be listed as non-essential luxury items!? Free and dignified access to period products should be a right, not a privilege, and something had to be done about this. Australians had been campaigning for nearly two decades to abolish this sexist tax, so with this momentum, Rochelle stood up to lobby for real parliamentary change.
Share the Dignity began an online Federal petition to #axethetaxperiod which garnered over 104,000 signatures. In June 2018, we rallied in front of Parliament House in Canberra and stood front and centre with a giant tampon and by October of the same year, the bill to remove the tax was successful in Federal Parliament.
The year is 2019 and we’ve just welcomed Woolworths on board as a major partner for our March and August Dignity Drives.
Our pink collection boxes can be conveniently found at Woolworths Supermarkets, so shoppers can easily buy and immediately donate period products and incontinence aids.
We are so grateful for the support of Woolworths during our Dignity Drives and for providing a convenient and local collection point for Australian’s nationwide to drop off all their generous donations.
The year is 2020 and the Queensland Government made an election promise to provide free and dignified access to period products in QLD schools.
By 2022 the Queensland Government committed to installing these DVM’s in every QLD state school, and in 2025 we now have over 700 DVM’s across QLD schools.
We can’t wait to see which state will be next to implement this incredible initiative.
We are so proud and grateful of this initiative in partnership with the Queensland Government. Together we have been providing free and dignified access to period products for Queensland state school students. The difference this makes to student period poverty is indescribable.
We can’t wait to see which state will be next to implement this incredible initiative.
The year is 2021 and we were on a mission to #PadUpPublicHealth.
When we learnt that hospitals were giving people adult nappies, bed pads, towels, gauze and other unsuitable items because period products were not freely or readily available, we were appalled! When you’re in hospital, the last thing you should need to think about is how you’re going to manage your period.
We started advocating to #PadUpPublicHealth and received over 53,000 signatures in response to our petition to the Government. We still advocate to this day, with only 5 out of 8 Australian states or territories committing in some capacity to providing period products in public hospitals.
In 2021 we also held our first Bloody Big Survey, which at the time was the largest survey of its kind. The 125,000+ responses provided great insight into the state of period poverty in Australia and supported us on our mission towards ending period poverty.
The year is 2022 and we have delivered our 100th pallet of period products as part of our Indigenous Mental Health Program.
We have heard first-hand that First Nations people face additional barriers to equitable menstrual health and hygiene, with many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities based in rural and regional locations. This impacts their access to products, which is why with the support of our generous partners, we are able to transport period products to these areas.
In 2022 we also held our Global Period Poverty Forum (GPPF), which was the world’s first forum on period poverty. This was three days of extraordinary learning and development where all who attended united to make global change.
Our lead volunteers also came together in 2022 for the first time at our United Conference. It was a surreal experience being in a room filled with passionate, selfless, humble, grateful and impressive volunteers, all connecting on our mission and helping us to the share the dignity.
The year is 2023 and the ACT passed the Period Products and Facilities (Access) Act 2023.
This law in the ACT requires the government to provide free and accessible period products in designated areas, including schools, libraries and family centres.
This period product bill is a giant step forward and is a huge win after years of advocacy. Now we just need the rest of Australia to follow ACT’s lead!
In 2023 we also saw Liz Ellis, iconic Australian netballer, nominate Share the Dignity as her charity of choice when she entered the jungle for season 9 of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! We were beyond grateful for her $100,000 winnings that were donated to us which allowed us to make a real difference in the lives of menstruators.
With the help of bloody legend Liz Ellis, we captured 153,000 respondents in our 2024 Bloody Big survey.
With the help of bloody legend Liz Ellis, we captured 153,000 respondents in our 2024 Bloody Big survey.
In 2024 we also became the official charity partner of the Priceline Sisterhood Foundation over the next three years. With this amazing support, we can make a huge difference to even more women, girls and those with a period who are doing it tough.
