Women now facing tampon shortage – National & International News – MON 13Jun2022

Women now facing tampon shortage. Senate group reaches bipartisan gun control deal. Possible remains found in search for journo and expert missing in Amazon.

NATIONAL NEWS

Women now facing tampon shortage

The hashtag #tamponshortage is now trending on Twitter as women across the country report that it’s increasingly difficult to find tampons in stores. One user wrote, “I thought I was going crazy noticing empty shelves where tampons should be”. Another woman on a DC forum for parents reported visiting three CVS stores and finding them “99% bare of all tampons”. However, this isn’t a new problem. Women have been complaining about it for months, but the shortage has only recently gained media attention.

I Support the Girls, a non-profit that provides feminine care products to poor and homeless women, has seen their tampon donations drop nearly by half since last year. Dana Marlowe, the charity’s founder, says, “We’ve been getting requests for tampons, and our warehouse shelves are empty. We are literally down to boxes versus pallets”. Marlowe blames the persistent societal taboo against discussing menstruation for the lack of media and government attention. “Also,” Marlowe adds, “a majority of lawmakers don’t have periods”.

There are, of course, alternatives to tampons, including maxi pads, menstrual cups and menstrual underwear. For now, those are relatively easy to find. But for various reasons, about 40% of women prefer tampons to other products. Women may find some of these products more difficult or uncomfortable to use, while others are more expensive and difficult to access. Now that summer is here, tampons are more in demand since, unlike maxi pads, you can swim while wearing them.

Procter & Gamble, makers of Tampax, has acknowledged the shortage and the frustration it’s caused. The company called it “a temporary situation” and say its working “24/7 to meet the increased demand for our products”.

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For more about what’s causing the shortage, click here (opens in new tab). 

Senate group reaches bipartisan gun control deal

A bipartisan group of Senators has announced a framework for a raft of gun control legislation. The proposed reforms are more modest than many Americans would like, and far less than what President Biden has asked for. While acknowledging these shortcomings, Biden called for Congress to approve the reforms without delay so he can sign them into law. The reforms have the backing of at least 10 Senate Republicans, enough to clear the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.

What the deal includes:

• Financial incentives for states to pass “red flag” laws, allowing weapons to be confiscated from individuals who may be considered dangerous or mentally unsound. 
• Money to bolster school safety and mental health programs.
• Makes the juvenile records of gun purchasers under 21 available for background checks.

What the deal does not include:

• A ban on assault weapons (supported by 37% of Republicans, 83% of Democrats and 63% of Americans overall).
• Raising the age to purchase assault weapons from 18-24 (59% of Republicans 91% of Democrats and 74% of Americans overall support raising the legal age to buy any gun to 21).
• Limitations on concealed carry without a permit (supported by 64% of Republicans, 91% of Democrats and 79% of Americans overall).
• Bans on high-capacity magazines (supported by 41% of Republicans, 83% of Democrats and 64% of Americans overall).
• Universal background checks (supported by 70% of Republicans, 92% of Democrats and 81% of Americans overall).

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You can view polls on Americans’ attitudes to different gun control measures by clicking here and here.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Possible remains found in hunt for UK journalist and Brazilian expert feared murdered in Amazon

Brazilian authorities have located what they’re calling “organic material” in their search for a British journalist and a Brazilian indigenous expert who have been missing in the Amazon rainforest for over a week. Dom Phillips, 57, is a journalist who has written for the Guardian and Washington Post. Bruno Pereira, 41, is an indigenous expert working for the Brazilian government.

The pair were last heard from on Sunday while on a fact finding trip during which they were traveling through the rainforest by boat. According to local indigenous groups, both Phillips and Pereira had received threats for their work in the area, which is rife with illegal logging, mining and drug trafficking.

Police will be testing the “organic material” to determine whether it is human remains. They are also testing blood traces from a boat belonging to a fisherman, who has been arrested.

Brazil’s government received much criticism for its slow and initially lackluster response to reports of the two men’s disappearance. Last year, 14 journalists were killed in Latin America. In recent years, murders of environmental activists, especially members of indigenous groups, have been in the hundreds. In 2020, there were 227 deadly attacks on activists in the region, up from 212 in 2019.

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