«Lo que no se conoce no interesa». El abandono de la salud menstrual como genealogía de la violencia de género desde el cuerpo y la memoria

Abstract

This study examines the systematic neglect of menstrual health within sexual and reproductive health projects targeting women and people with uteruses in the context of international cooperation, humanitarian action and logistics, and education for social transformation.

Drawing on a qualitative study based on six semi-structured interviews with professionals with extensive experience, the research gathers situated perspectives from over twenty countries in the Global South. These settings range from active or protracted conflict zones (such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq) to regions affected by structural poverty and chronic crises in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. Within this framework, the article pursues a twofold objective: first, to reconstruct a critical genealogy of the historical, epistemological and political causes underlying this neglect; and second, to identify and make visible Good Practices aimed at a comprehensive approach to menstrual health.

The findings reveal that the marginalisation of menstrual health constitutes a persistent form of epistemic injustice, deeply rooted both in the historical configuration of scientific knowledge and in global cooperation policies shaped by patriarchal, colonial and capitalist structural dynamics. This exclusion not only reproduces gender inequalities, but can also be understood as a specific form of structural violence linked to scientific androcentrism and the hierarchical ordering of knowledge. Finally, the article proposes strategies that challenge the hegemonic North-South flow of knowledge production and highlights the need to incorporate menstrual health into the global political agenda as a central axis of human rights, social justice and the eradication of gender-based violence.