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The Red Report 2026
In this, the second year of Irise’s Red Report, we lay bare the reality of menstrual shame and stigma in the UK today, exploring how it manifests through discrimination and exclusion. We reveal how menstrual injustice is deeply entwined with wider systems of inequity and boldly confront who, therefore, is most deeply impacted by our collective discomfort.
The Red Report exists because we cannot change what we refuse to name.
Generations have been taught that menstruation is something to hide rather than something to understand. Knowledge about our own bodies has been withheld through systems rooted in misogyny and patriarchy.
Published each year around MH Day this annual report tracks the UK’s attitudes, understanding, and action on menstruation. It’s designed to be a national barometer for menstrual justice - a tool to measure whether we’re moving forwards, standing still, or sliding backwards. This year’s findings make one thing unmistakably clear: progress is not happening quickly enough.
Discrimination
persists
10% of menstruators experienced discrimination due to menstruation in the last 12 month.
Shame still shapes behaviour
26% of menstruators felt embarrassed about their period in the last 12 months.
Comfort remains low in everyday life
Only 47% feel comfortable discussing periods with family, 37% with colleagues, 41% with children and young people, and just 30% in mixed-gender social settings.
Knowledge gaps remain significant
57% of adults say they feel knowledgeable about periods and menstruation, suggesting as many as 43% may not.
The 2026 data shows that menstrual injustice remains deeply rooted in the UK, shaped by stigma, silence, and systemic inequity. Those facing overlapping systems of oppression continue to carry the greatest burden.
At the same time, the report reinforces a critical truth: knowledge is power. Those that report feeling more knowledgeable are significantly more likely to feel comfortable talking about menstruation in a variety of everyday settings. When people are better informed and more menstrually literate, they are more confident, more able to advocate for themselves, and more able to shift the dial on stigma, systems, and outcomes.
The 2026 findings paint a stark picture: menstrual stigma, discrimination, and inequality remain deeply embedded in UK society, with those facing systemic disadvantage continuing to bear the greatest burden. Yet the data also points to a powerful opportunity. Public support for change is growing, awareness is increasing, and there is clear momentum for more ambitious, structural action on menstrual health and justice.
In this report, we share our findings across three key dimensions:
01
Shame and Stigma
Discrimination, Embarrassment, Shifting stigma, Comfortability
02
Menstrual Literacy
Knowledge, The Knowledge an Comfort Paradigm, Information sources
03
Policy and Products
Menstrual leave, ‘Period poverty’
The Red Report 2026 makes one thing undeniably clear: menstrual injustice does not exist in a vacuum, and it is not inevitable.
It is a crisis sustained by silence, deepened by stigma, and enforced by systemic inequity. But, beneath the shocking data lies an undeniable truth: change is not only possible, it's already in motion.
And, check The Red Report 2025.
Taking the next steps:
Mind the Menstrual Literacy Gap
The Red Report highlights the complex challenges we face, while the Mind the Literacy Gap campaign brings people together to drive meaningful change.
If you like what we stand for, follow our work and be part of the movement we are building by sharing our work, or consider donating.
