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SALT LAKE CITY — Ahead of Wednesday's International Women's Day, Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and community organizer Kristin Andrus met to discuss how women can participate in "moving the ball in ways that are incredibly meaningful and impactful."
The two women went on Instagram Live, to discuss the recent legislative session, how to create an impact and how Henderson unexpectedly found her way to her position. Andrus and Henderson have previously partnered and appeared together on the issue of period products.
Andrus is a member of the nonprofit Policy Project, which championed putting period products in Utah schools. The nonprofit advocated for HB162 "Period Products in Schools" in the 2022 legislative session, which was passed unanimously. The new law requires all public and charter schools in the state to provide period products in girl's and unisex restrooms at all school facilities.
Ahead of the bill, Henderson voiced her support of the bill and appeared in several press conferences advocating for it. Access to period products has since expanded with the products now appearing in all state buildings, the nonprofit announced earlier this year.
"The work is but begun; the cause is in its merest infancy. ... In a faraway promised land, we behold a perfected state wherein the heart and hand and intelligence of women contribute their full share." — Utah suffragist Emily S. Richards, 1890s#InternationalWomensDaypic.twitter.com/RYJ6kREZ1O
— Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson (@LGHendersonUtah) March 8, 2023
"I used to miss so many votes because I was running around trying to find tampons and I don't think I, ever in my wildest dreams, would have thought that I would ever say the word tampon in a press conference as lieutenant governor, but there we were and here we are," said Henderson.
"We are moving the ball in ways that are incredibly meaningful and impactful for women and girls in this state. There cannot be opportunity when people don't have their basic needs met and menstruation products are part of the basic needs for half the population and I'm really glad we're talking about it finally," she added.
The unanimous passing of the bill and its implementation in schools and state buildings signifies an important shift in conversations.
"We're rethinking normal. We're rethinking the way that things have always been done and your administration has just done that in such an incredible way," Andrus told Henderson.
Recent efforts to change the status quo included a personal connection on Henderson's part. After her cousin was shot and killed by a former partner last year, Henderson doubled down on efforts to change how the state addresses domestic violence.
"It's a really important conversation we haven't had enough of, we've been doing better lately. A lot of women in the state of Utah experienced domestic violence; when you look at our homicides about a third of those homicides are related to intimate partner violence," said Henderson.
In the recent session, lawmakers passed bills creating a database of domestic violence-related calls and mandating the lethality assessment protocol for all law enforcement agencies in the state.
"If you are on I-15 in northern Utah and you get pulled over and given a warning because you're not wearing your seatbelt or you're speeding and then you're down in southern Utah and you get pulled over and they see that you've had a recent warning ... maybe they're not going to give you a warning this time. Maybe this time it's a ticket. We don't have anything like that for domestic violence," explained Henderson.
For others hoping to make a difference, Henderson offers the following advice.
"The first-most important thing is to know that you can — you can create change, one person absolutely can make a difference. You don't have to be lieutenant governor to make a difference," she said. "You can be you. What you need to do is show up and you need to speak up, because very few people show up and very few people speak up."
Come celebrate 🎊 https://t.co/f6IKGNpBBc
— Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson (@LGHendersonUtah) March 7, 2023
