Olivia Laramie, a graduate student at the School of Public Policy, presented a paper at the 16th International Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies (RAIS) Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities. Hosted by John Hopkins University, the March 30 and 31 conference was held online in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Laramie, a student in SPP’s Master of Public Policy and Administration program, presented research from her work with Pure Water for the World (PWW), a Vermont-based nonprofit that partners with communities in Central America and the Caribbean to help establish sustainable safe water, hygiene and sanitation programs. Last summer, Laramie traveled to Honduras to work as an intern on PWW’s Menstrual Hygiene Management Program, which focuses on improving school bathroom facilities for girls to make it easier for them to manage their menstrual hygiene and provide lessons intended to remove the stigma surrounding menstruation.
During her stay in the small town of Trojes, Laramie conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the Menstrual Hygiene Management program for PWW. The paper Laramie presented at the RAIS Conference—which was coauthored by fellow intern Annette Butty—found that the school-based menstrual education program, which was started in 2015, improved knowledge of menstrual health among menstruating girls and teachers but was less effective for boys and non-menstruating girls. The researchers also offered recommendations for improving the program’s effectiveness, including having teachers implement a system for tracking the results of their curriculum in their classrooms, partnering with another organization to create a school-based nutrition program for girls and working with the Honduran Ministry of Health to help teachers better present accurate information that doesn’t stigmatize menstruation in their lessons.
“In the United States, we take clean water and working bathroom facilities for granted. Although there is still a stigma around menstruation, most women in the U.S. do not have the added difficulties of remaining hygienic and accessing sanitary materials,” Laramie said. “This experience really put my life into perspective and also inspired me to continue to work towards all facets of equality for women and girls around the world.”
In 2019 Laramie’s work at Pure Water for the World earned her PWW’s inaugural Carolyn Crowley Meub Women Empowerment Scholarship, which recognizes students committed to changing the lives of girls and women in developing countries.