angeles cruz martinez
Newspaper La Jornada
Thursday March 9, 2023, p. 9
Women’s battles begin in childhood due to the lack of information and access to basic supplies to guarantee their sexual and reproductive health. Proof of this is that 69 percent had little or no information when their first menstrual period arrived and only 5 percent of families talk to minors about the subject, according to the first Menstrual Management Survey.
The study, carried out by civil organizations in collaboration with Unicef, also identified that half of the women do not feel comfortable talking about menstruation with family members, colleagues and friends, so they experience it and often suffer it in secret.
Another historical shortcoming is poor access to methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The 2021 National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut) found that 45 percent of women aged 20 to 49 did not use any contraceptive method in their first relationship.
The investigation carried out during the covid-19 pandemic also revealed that among young women the percentage was lower (32 percent), and the main contraceptive was the condom (61 percent).
The problem of adolescent pregnancy persists in the country, which occurs in 64 out of every thousand people in that age group (12 to 19 years), especially in rural areas and low-income areas.
Another indicator that accounts for the pending in the matter is postpartum contraception. The Ensanut claims that it is one of the most effective strategies to prevent subsequent unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. However, the national average is 69 percent of women who leave the hospital with some alternative for this purpose.
On the other hand, in order to offer an informative option for girls and adolescents, the V-Land game was created on the Roblox online video game platform, which offers a space to learn and normalize everything related to menstruation. The video game, designed by the company Essity, seeks to reverse the prejudices and false ideas surrounding this physiological process. The premise is that education is most effective when combined with entertainment.
Hence the idea of resorting to the metaverse to send the message that child and adolescent populations experience menstruation without stigmas or taboos, since it is a normal stage of development and must be lived without myths or insecurities.
