A Northern Territory hotel has come under fire for posting images of blood-stained towels and sheets from a guest's room.
The post by Quest Palmerston was accompanied by the caption "It must be Shark Week" — which women's advocacy group Share The Dignity said was a "derogatory term" referring to a woman's period.
The self-serviced apartment chain Quest issued an apology after an intense backlash on social media.
The original post was quickly taken down, but not before Share The Dignity took a screenshot and shared it on their own page to a following of more than 160,000 people.
"There are just no words, Quest Palmerston," Share The Dignity's post read.
"Shaming a woman for getting her period and posting pics on social media.
"The post has been taken down now, but this day and age this is poor taste."
'Shouldn't air your dirty laundry'
From there, the social media outrage went viral.
"Absolutely disgusting behaviour comparing a natural occurrence for a woman to #sharkweek," one user wrote.
"Quest apartments … You should never air your dirty laundry in public," another user posted.
"Whoever posted this should be sacked. It's very unprofessional and just plain stupid," a third user wrote.
It remains unclear whether the blood pictured in the original post was menstrual blood, but Share The Dignity founder Rochelle Courtenay told the ABC that was not the point.
"There's so much taboo around women getting their periods, this sort of crap doesn't do anything to help," Ms Courtenay said.
"It's a reminder that businesses need to be mindful … social media is how we all communicate now."
Quest Palmerston employee suspended
Quest Palmerston took to their Facebook page to apologise.
When contacted for further comment by the ABC, a spokesperson for Quest Apartment Hotels said: "The unauthorised post by a Quest Palmerston employee was deeply upsetting and we understand the strong community reaction it provoked."
"The employee responsible for the post has been suspended and will now be subject to an official internal investigation."
The Quest Palmerston Facebook page has since disabled their review and recommendations feature.
