#freeperiods

Period poverty is when women and girls struggle to pay for basic sanitary products on a monthly basis which has a significant impact on their hygiene, health and wellbeing.

Sara Barrie, safer schools officer for West Yorkshire Police, reported that many girls were having to rely on teachers to provide them with sanitary products, and others didn't attend school for several days a month. We can't allow this to affect girls' education.

Many girls also reported that they only used one tampon a day, which massively increases their risk of developing toxic shock syndrome and urinary tract infections. The use of socks, sellotape and newspapers is also common. So girls' health is being affected too.

Many girls wouldn't know how to turn to to ask for others and others will simply be too embarrassed to talk about it.

Amazingly, the houses of parliment have been discussing how to create a solution to this problem...

13th March
Labour MP Helen Goodman asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: "whether the Government offers any provision of female sanitary products for women who consider themselves unable to afford such products."
The response from Conservative Minister Damian Hinds was that: ‘Benefits do not include a specific amount for sanitary products, just as they do not include a specific amount for any other item such as food or fuel charges. Instead, an “applicable amount” is set through legislation passed by Parliament for each benefit."

14th March
The House of Lords had a debate on the provision of sanitary products and Baroness Burt of Solihull asked "Could we not give sanitary towels to girls who qualify for free school meals? We already know who they are, and the cost of setting up the system would, I am sure, be very small. It would mean that all girls in school could confidently attend school all month round without having to worry about the embarrassment of their period letting them down."  
Conservative Lord Porter of Spalding said that this was "one of the best suggestions I have heard in here, which is to allow girls on free school meals access to free sanitary products. If there is a way of exploring that, I would welcome it, and I hope my noble friend the Minister can at least ask whether it is feasible."

15th March
13 MPs have shown their support and signed a petition to provide sanitary products to girls from low income families which was started up by Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland. Other MPs are also becoming involved with Labour MSP Monica Lennon calling for sanitary products to be given out free in Scotland.

It's fantastic to see many parties in parliament, especially male MPs, acting to smash the period taboo and help girls in need.

You can sign the campaign lobbying the government for the provision of sanitary products for girls at school who have free meals here.


Have a beautiful day x 


References:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/12/period-poverty-call-to-tackle-the-hidden-side-of-inequality
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/girls-skipping-school-periods-cant-afford-tampons-sanitary-pads-a7629766.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/women-are-using-newspapers-because-they-cannot-afford-tampons-warns-salvation-army-food-bank-a6932111.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39266056
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/17/girls-from-poorer-families-in-england-struggle-to-afford-sanitary-protection
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/laura-coryton/the-lords-and-commons-are_b_15569270.html
https://www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-free-sanitary-products-for-girls-on-free-school-meals-freeperiods?source_location=minibar