PERIODS ERC: Human Rights in the Menstrual Movement

About PERIODS ERC: Human Rights in the Menstrual Movement

Do you agree that menstruation is about so much more than blood?

That is the premise of PERIODS, an interdisciplinary, transnational research project that examines menstruation through the lenses of human rights, gender justice, and social mobilisation. We view menstruation not just as a biological process but as a gendered social process that compounds with other forms of structural injustices to create situations of discrimination for menstruators, curtailing their rights to health, education, work, and full participation in public life.

The project pursues two core objectives: first, to analyse whether and how human rights frameworks can advance the menstrual movement; and second, to reconceptualise human rights “from below” through the practices of social movements. Theoretically, it critically engages with human rights as both practice and concept.

PERIODS consists of interconnected case studies focusing on marginalised groups, including Dalit communities in India, Roma communities in Eastern Europe, people living in conditions of informality, and trans and non-binary communities. These studies challenge the idea of a “default” menstruator and explore how intersecting factors such as caste, class, religion, ethnicity, culture, informality, and gender identity shape menstrual experiences.

Together, the project contributes to a more nuanced understanding of menstrual justice and human rights, embracing menstruation in all its social complexity.

The project is supported by a European Research Council Consolidator Grant and is based out of the LAW group at Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands.

Address

• Headquarters

  WageningenGelderland, Netherlands

Team by function

Based on 2 public job profiles as of 5 September 2026.

• Research / R&D2