PRAVNI ZAPISI • Year XVI • no. 1 • pp. 232–252
MISSING MENSTRUATORS: HOW ACTIVIST WORK HIGHLIGHTS A KNOWLEDGE GAP
English
Marina Sakač Hadžić
PhD candidate at Wageningen University, Netherlands; Communication, Capacity Building, and Membership Officer at the European Association for the Education of Adults
e-mail: marina.sakac@outlook.com
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6441-3371
Pravni zapisi, No. 1/2025, pp. 232-252
Review Article
DOI: DOI 10.5937/pravzap16-58509
KEY WORDS
Digital Activism, Menstrual Activism, Knowledge Production, Human Rights, Public Health Law, Serbia, Western Balkans.
ABSTRACT
With the global and cultural shifts challenging the silence and taboo, menstruation is becoming increasingly present in the media. By looking the work of artists and activists, this paper highlights the development of knowledge about menstruation. In promoting menstruation and period poverty, activists and NGOs have contributed to changes in schools and universities in Serbia and the Western Balkans. Some of these institutions now provide free menstrual products. The paper explores the role of digital activists and civil society as drivers of change, focusing on producing and sharing knowledge about menstruating bodies. They fill gaps created by the neglect or lack of interest of public health institutions. This draws on legal reforms, civil society contributions, critical menstrual studies, digital ethnography, and content analysis.