Feature Article - A Guide to Fighting Period Poverty and Menstrual Shame

Access to appropriate menstrual products, a safe and hygienic space to manage your period and the right to menstruate with dignity, are essential to anyone who has periods - yet for many people across the world they are not a reality. It is easy to think that period poverty and stigmatisation is an issue for people in less socio-economically advantaged countries, and while this is true, research shows that it is strikingly prevalent in the UK too. A persons’ period can dramatically affect school and university attendance, incite discrimination and make the precarious lives of some of the most insecure in our society more difficult. With forty-nine per cent of girls having missed a day of school due to their period and one in ten women aged fourteen to twenty-one being unable to afford the products they want to manage their period...we’ve got a bloody problem! Here’s five things you can do to play your part in the fight against period poverty and menstrual shame: 1. Ask your school, uni or workplace what they are doing to prevent period poverty and menstrual stigma By asking, you make the institution aware that you care about menstruation-related issues and therefore they should care too. Due to the secrecy shrouding periods, some people may not be aware that there is a problem. You could mention that only one in five girls feel comfortable discussing their period with a teacher or staff member and that this may be stopping people from managing menstruation with confidence. If they are not yet doing anything, petition for change or lead the change yourself! 2. Create a petition Petitions or open letters can be an effective way to communicate a mass desire for change. Decide what you want to say and where you want to see developments happen, present some facts about period poverty and and get as many people as you can to sign in agreement! You could then use your signatures to demonstrate to people in more powerful positions that you, and others, want to see a change to the status quo. ‘One in seven girls in the UK have borrowed menstrual products from a friend due to affordability issues but this does not have to be the case for the University of Periods! Please join me in asking for a consistent supply of free menstrual products in the library toilets to be accessible for all, no questions asked’ 3. Contact your MP to ask what they are doing to prevent period poverty and menstrual stigma Make your MP aware that their constituents care about menstruation-related issues and therefore they should too. You could include the results of a petition to show how many care or statistics on period poverty. Whilst the Government has agreed to provide free menstrual products to all in compulsory education in early 2020, we are still unclear as to how and when this will happen so we must keep the pressure on - if you are not happy about the access to, supply or type of products when this comes into place at your school then let someone know! 4. Organise a collection to help support a local institution or period poverty project Collect period products or money to be donated somewhere you think people would benefit from increased supplies. This could be for your school, university or workplace or one of the many amazing groups working to fight against period poverty - check out these to get you started: - No More Taboo - Free Periods - Bloody Good Period - Red Box Project - Every Month - Freedom4Girls Alternatively, you could contact a local foodbank, refugee centre or women’s refuge to ask if they would like any products or monetary donations! Your collection could be as simple as advertising a box for people to drop items in or you could get more creative and host a cocktail party, cake sale, brunch or craft evening at which you can raise money or ask for menstrual product donations. Make sure your event and advertising is period positive to promote an open, celebratory menstrual narrative. 5. Challenge the secrecy of your period Speaking openly and freely about periods can help dismantle the social stigma surrounding menstruation and help us understand what is ‘normal’ for us and for others, which in-turn can help us realise if there is something wrong. This is perhaps the easiest and most impactful way to reduce menstrual stigma - start with your friends and family and as you feel more confident, chat openly with strangers, colleagues or classmates and promote an open conversation on social media. Written for Rife Magazine, image showing Free Periods protest by Amelia Allen