Assessing menstrual environments at university: an audit of toilet facilities across five campuses

ABSTRACT University students often express difficulties managing menstrual symptoms on campus due to inadequate toilet facilities, impacting their study and health. However, research has not quantitatively assessed whether toilet facilities are meeting the needs of university students who menstruate. This study assessed the menstrual-friendliness of university toilet facilities across five campuses of a South Australian university. Using an adapted version of the Menstrual-Friendly Public Toilet audit tool, a proportionate stratified random sample of toilet facilities across each campus were audited. Audit items were allocated into six sub-domains to create a menstrual-friendly score for each toilet facility. Scores were compared across toilet gender, occupancy type (single or multi) and campus, using one-way ANOVA tests. 92 toilet facilities were audited. The average score for menstrual-friendliness was 0.46 out of 1, where 0 = least menstrual-friendly and 1 = most menstrual-friendly. Menstruation-Specific Resources was the lowest scoring sub-domain, and three toilets provided menstrual products. Unisex/accessible toilet facilities had significantly higher menstrual-friendliness scores (p < 0.001) than female or male toilet facilities. This university lacks facilities that support menstruation. Further research should assess facilities in other universities to determine the extent of the issue. This can ensure university students' menstrual needs are met to support their health and learning.