TAMPA, Fla.— The Center for Biological Diversity and Justice Advocacy Network, Jax Period Pantry and Central Florida Mutual Aid will give away sexual and reproductive health emergency preparedness kits at Tampa’s Really, Really Free Market on Sunday, Sept. 8. The kits include condoms, emergency contraception, period products, pregnancy tests and lubricant.
The kits are being distributed during FEMA Emergency Preparedness Month to highlight the importance of preparing for sexual and reproductive health disruptions during extreme weather events.
“The South’s deteriorating reproductive healthcare landscape is already affecting millions. Disasters exacerbate this by hindering people’s financial stability and limiting access to vital services,” said Kaitlyn Kirk, co-founder of Justice Advocacy Network. “These kits were created by Floridians for Floridians with this in mind.”
What: Sexual health emergency preparedness kit giveaway
When: Sunday, Sept. 8, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Tampa’s Really, Really Free Market. Carl Schleck Park, 6000 54th Ave. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33709 (on the corner of 54th Ave. and 64th Way, opposite side of the park from City Hall)
Who: The Center for Biological Diversity and Justice Advocacy Network
Background
Project Drawdown, an international climate change think tank, lists women’s health and education — including getting to choose if and when to start a family — as top climate change solutions. Extreme weather events can disrupt services and limit access to abortions, birth control, and menstrual hygiene products, increasing the risk of unintended pregnancy and making it harder for vulnerable people to recover from storms.
The climate crisis has a disproportionate impact on women and gender diverse people, but their voices are often left out of climate and emergency preparedness plans, even as fossil fuel-driven severe weather events become more frequent. Sexual health emergency preparedness kits are designed to fill this gap, as well as highlight the need for individuals and communities to consider these items in their own emergency preparations.
