● RADIOAdvertise with us
DOWNUNDERVOICESAustralia · New Zealand · World
Back to Social Issues
Social Issues

3 September 2026

Theft of sanitary items demonstrates period poverty desperation

Downunder Voices Newsroom

Source reporting: abc.net.au

FacebookEmail
Theft of sanitary items demonstrates period poverty desperation

Using socks as sanitary pads, wearing tampons for more than two days and stealing products from supermarkets are some of the lengths women and girls are going to in order to manage their periods.

About this report

Downunder Voices provides an independently written summary and community perspective based on information published by the original source. The original publisher remains responsible for its reporting.

Join our community

Follow Downunder Voices

Join thousands of readers following news and community stories from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Follow on FacebookSubmit your story

More from Social Issues

View category
Sydney’s gangland crossfire: innocent lives keep paying the priceSocial Issues

3 September 2026

Sydney’s gangland crossfire: innocent lives keep paying the price

Another life may have been lost to Sydney’s underworld violence, and it is a grim reminder that modern organised crime has grown indifferent to the distinction between rival and random victim. Recent reporting charts a worrying pattern: bungled assassinations and ‘death by association’ incidents are occurring more frequently, and the city may have seen a sixth innocent casualty in the past 18 months. Those words — bungled hit, death by association — describe a chilling reality. Criminal networks no longer fight only in secluded backstreets; their arsenals and methods too often spill into public space. When a targeted attack goes wrong or a bystander is mistaken for a rival, the consequences are immediate and tangible. Families lose loved ones; local businesses and schools feel the ripple effects; neighbourhoods grow wary and fearful. Policing such a threat is complicated. Organised crime is adaptable. It exploits illegal markets — from drugs to gambling and contraband goods — and the money it makes funds weaponry and hired operatives. Recent political discussion has homed in on one of those markets: tobacco. Opposition spokespeople have argued that cheap, illicit cigarettes help finance the organised crime activity behind much of the violence. A public policy pitch has emerged to legalise and regulate vapes, slash tobacco excise and strengthen enforcement to choke off the illicit trade. That argument is important and understandable. Where criminals can extract profit with little risk, their reach expands. Cutting demand for illegal products and tightening enforcement can, in theory, reduce revenue streams that bankroll violence. But the policy debate must be careful and evidence‑based. Lowering excise and legalising new nicotine products may have complex effects on behaviour, market incentives and public health; stronger enforcement requires sustained resources and intelligent disruption of criminal networks, not jumps to simple solutions. Beyond the debate on tobacco lies the immediate need to protect communities. That means targeted policing that focuses on supply chains and not merely on punitive responses after a shooting; it means working with local leaders to reduce the chances bystanders are present where violence erupts; and it means better intelligence-sharing so that police can disrupt plots before they are executed. It also calls for investment in community services that offer alternatives to those drawn into organised crime in the first place. For ordinary Sydney residents the policy choices are practical, not theoretical. Parents expect streets to be safe for children. Commuters expect to catch a train or walk down a footpath without worry. Shopkeepers want trade that is not undermined by the fear of violence. If illicit markets fuel criminal power, tackling those markets makes sense — but so does recognising that suppression of supply without attention to demand, rehabilitation and social services will be incomplete. And there is a wider civic point. When headlines record another innocent killed, public confidence in institutions declines. The community needs to see coordinated action: sensible laws, funded and intelligent enforcement, targeted social programs, and clear communication from authorities about what they are doing and why. Temporary arrests and tough rhetoric will not be enough; what Sydney needs is a durable plan to shrink the space in which organised crime operates and to protect the people who are paying the price.

Community angle

Rising mistaken‑identity shootings have direct local impacts: loss of life, fear in public spaces, and damage to neighbourhood life. Ordinary people need to know how policy choices — from excise settings to enforcement priorities — will affect safety on their streets.

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/feed/45910/rss.xmlOriginal source

Read Next

View latest
Trump’s DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor’s “Strongest Possible” ObjectionsTrade & Logistics

3 September 2026

Trump’s DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor’s “Strongest Possible” Objections

Federal agents face off with protesters in a Minneapolis neighborhood after a federal agent shot a man from Venezuela while attempting to detain him in January. Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images Over the “strongest possible” objections from the federal prosecutor handling the case, leaders at the Department of Justice in Washington, D. C. , quashed plans to bring civil rights charges against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant and then lying about it.

Source: ProPublicaOriginal source