June 19, 2018

Scotland is breaking the shameful cycle of period poverty

located:	United Kingdom
editor:	Shira Jeczmien

Almost one year ago, in July 2017, a pilot scheme in Aberdeen, Scotland, led by Community Food Initiatives North East social enterprise and launched by Equalities Secretary Angela Constance saw sanitary products provided for free to low-income girls and women. What initially began as a six month local pilot was renewed for another half a year in March 2018 and as a result of its success, a few weeks ago Scotland announced it will be rolling out the programme beyond the city – making it the first country in the world to have a nationwide scheme that tackles period poverty from the ground up.

In just under 12 months, the contained pilot has allowed more than 1,000 girls and women to menstruate with dignity. A recent report by the grassroots group Women for Independence has revealed that in Scotland, one in five women have experienced various degrees of period poverty, including using alternatives such as toilet paper, rags, socks and in some cases newspapers. The report also showed that one in ten had to prioritise sanitary towels over other household products – including food – while 22 percent have reported not being able to change their products as frequently as they want to.

Following the mounting evidence of indignity and shame endured by young girls and women on a monthly basis, Constance has recently announced her plans to provide food waste and hunger fighting charity FareShare with £500,000 to extend the project across the country, with the aim of reaching an estimated 18,800 more women.

When corporate supermarkets price their own brand sanitary products at between 10p a towel and 5p a tampon, the cost of these essential products may seem – to some – inexpensive. Yet when put together, the estimated monthly spend of £13 per month and thousands of pounds over a lifetime is a financial burden that has left too many women without alternative options for far too long. “Respondents described their feelings of shame and isolation, worrying about smell, feeling uncomfortable, and missing out on days of education, work and social events because they felt unable to go out.” The Guardian reported following the release of the Women for Independence survey.  

As the project begins to roll out across the country, First minister Nicola Sturgeon has already announced that as of autumn 2018, free sanitary products will be provided in schools, colleges and universities while according to testimonies, it is becoming increasingly common that women’s toilets are equipped with free products.

Campaigners, policy makers, charities, grassroots organisations and those who experienced period poverty themselves all agree that a significant aspect of both fighting against and enduring the inability to afford sanitary products is the shame and stigma that goes hand in hand with it. Keeping public bathrooms stocked with free sanitary products or honesty boxes and allocating funding to projects tackling limited access to products sets the agenda: we are all becoming increasingly aware period poverty is real; we are all compassionate to the pain it brings to those who are affected by it. And we are all working to eliminate it for good.