Rhea Willson
Everyday, 800 million people around the world are menstruating. The amount of those individuals suffering from period poverty is higher than you think.
‘Period poverty’ is a term most of us recognise, but may not understand. Defined as a lack of access to menstrual products and education, period poverty affects anyone buying or using period products. It remains an ongoing problem that impacts people globally.
Poverty is often perceived as being synonymous with developing countries. As a result, one common misconception is that period poverty does not exist in the UK. However, one in ten girls in the United Kingdom cannot afford menstrual products. Another one in seven have struggled to afford them before. This makes period poverty more common than vaping and obesity. These numbers prove how imperative it is to understand and address period poverty through policy.
Why Has Period Poverty Become Rampant?
There are a multitude of reasons why people cannot access period products in the UK.
The cost-of-living crisis is a significant culprit. Due to budget cuts and prices being on the rise, those affected are forced to choose between basic amenities: food and electricity or menstrual hygiene. As many as 47 per cent of 25–34-year-olds and 28 per cent of 18-24 year-olds can’t afford to buy period products.
“Not only does period poverty affect hygiene and safety, it also interferes with social lives and education”
Additionally, period poverty rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, with minimal government intervention. Due to the lack of support, rates continued to climb and put extra strain on struggling households. The need for free period products increased by 78 per cent in 2022 alone.
Now, the need for free access to sanitary products is more prevalent than ever before. Not only does period poverty affect hygiene and safety, it also interferes with social lives and education. Over 60 per cent of people have cancelled plans due to not having the adequate sanitary protection they need. Even more shockingly, two million girls miss school due to their period.
How To Fight Period Poverty
Thankfully, the cost-of-living crisis saw a rise in the use of hygiene banks. By distributing free period products, they helped combat the plight of period poverty. However, these charities can only work so hard to fill the gaps created by Westminster.
In 2024, the UK government has launched a scheme to provide free products in state schools. However, this scheme will end this year. Following Brexit, the tampon tax was removed from sanitary products (including period underwear) in the UK. But this only decreased the price by one per cent, so has done little to tackle hygiene poverty.
The government should take a leaf out of Holyrood’s book. Living in Scotland for four years, I experienced the benefits of free sanitary care first-hand.
In public bathrooms, period products are readily available in baskets. This makes it easy – and most importantly, free – for people to control and regulate their periods. Free products are also supplied to girls in state-maintained schools. This not only includes individuals who cannot afford the products, but those who have forgotten, run out, or have started their period unexpectedly.
Unlike Westminster’s temporary schemes, Scotland made this a permanent law by passing the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act. This decision made Scotland the first country in the world to provide period products for free.
The Limitations Of This Act
Seeking to solve period poverty goes beyond providing menstrual products to those who need them. It also involves challenging stigmas through education, and normalising conversations about menstruation. The stigma around periods, such as that women must be emotional because they are menstruating, contributes to a general attitude that trivialises the harsh realities.
“Education must address how period poverty can lead to serious health and economic complications”
Due to harmful stigmas, women and girls in the UK actively avoid work, school, exercise and even socialising when they are bleeding. With no compensation or support, period poverty is not just about the need for accessible products. It includes normalising discussions about these issues. Until these stigmas are addressed, the problem will not be taken seriously.
The Importance Of Education
Implementing educational programmes is imperative to teaching not only about menstruation itself, but also the social stigma associated with bleeding. A comprehensive understanding of how period poverty affects individuals massively reduces misinformation about the issue. Hopefully, this will contribute to a large shift in social attitudes.
Period dignity is about more than giving people sanitary products. Education must address how period poverty can lead to serious health and economic complications for people who experience it. For example, compromising their jobs and resorting to making their own period protections.
Through keeping conversations alive, period poverty will gain better recognition at government levels. It is only when we address all of the issues associated with menstruation that real change can be made for people tormented by period poverty. We need to keep pushing for policies that will improve the lives of the two million individuals currently suffering from period poverty.
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Featured Image courtesy of Monika Kozub via Unsplash. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.
Rheawillson
Passionate writer with an undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology and life-long ambition of working on the coverage of original and creative stories on TV, radio, and digital platforms. With a deep interest in gender, art and travel, I have gained professional writing skills in working environments. I am now looking to apply my theoretical and creative ambitions with my skills to embark on writing ventures.