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Rochelle Courtenay is the Founder and Managing Director of Share the Dignity, an Australia-based charity, organizing the The Global Period Poverty Forum (GPPF), Oct. 10-12, 2022.
The GPPF will bring together 42 world-class speakers, outstanding researchers and those making a global impact for three days of extraordinary development and learning around how WE can unite to end period poverty. Days for Girls is a participating partner.
In this episode, Rochelle talks about the inspiration for her work at Share the Dignity and what to expect at the GPPF.
Connect:
The Global Period Poverty Forum (GPPF), Oct. 10-12, 2022
Bio:
Share the Dignity was founded in 2015 with the mission to ensure that everyone is afforded the dignity in life that so many of us take for granted. Share the Dignity brings dignity to women and girls experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, and period poverty through the distribution of period products. Share the Dignity is powered by volunteers, and through Rochelle’s contagious spirit over 6,000 volunteers have jumped on board to help ‘share the dignity.’
Share the Dignity has donated over 3.5 million period products through multiple initiatives across Australia. Rochelle has won recognition and accolades for her work including Finalist Australian of the Year, Cosmopolitan Humanitarian of the Year and Pride of Australia.
As well as holding biannual collections for period products nationwide, Rochelle is passionate about advocating for change and creating long-term solutions. Share the Dignity successfully advocated to axe the tax on period products, with the GST on period products being removed in early 2019. Additionally, Share the Dignity has been advocating for free period products in schools for years and since then many states have begun implementing programs.
Most recently, after finding out that patients in Australian hospitals were being denied period products and instead being given diapers, gauze, bed pads and towels Share the Dignity has turned its focus to advocating for pads to be provided to patients for free in Australian public hospitals.
