Exploring the impact of period poverty
Menstrual Hygiene Day 2021 takes place on Friday 28 May, with the aim of increasing understanding of menstrual health, challenging stigmas and improving menstrual hygiene education and services.
These are subjects that matter to Gemma Williams, Research Fellow at BCU’s Centre for Social Care, Health and Related Research, particularly as they relate to the issue of ‘period poverty’ – the lack of access to period products, education and other menstrual health products and services. Gemma is a member of the UK Government’s Period Poverty Taskforce and is investigating how the pandemic has affected those experiencing it.
At the outset of the pandemic, the children’s charity Plan International UK reported that lockdown was worsening period poverty with 11% of girls aged between 14 and 21 unable to afford period products, using instead makeshift items from socks, toilet rolls and newspaper. The charity also found that among those girls who could afford period products, 22% were struggling to access them, mostly because they could not find them in the shops.
At an online seminar on Wednesday 26 May, Gemma’s UKRI funded ‘Periods in a Pandemic’ project published its interim findings on the effect that Covid-19 is having on those experiencing period poverty in the UK and what can be done to tackle it.
The project team found that period poverty initiatives have continued to support people during the pandemic, despite huge increases in demand for products and significant logistical challenges. While this work has helped lessen the impact of Covid-19, plans to drive forward change have been stunted by coronavirus and Gemma fears if the government’s aim of ending period poverty in the UK is to remain on track, it cannot afford to wait until the country emerges from the pandemic.
Gemma said: “The problems associated with period poverty have been made worse as a result of Covid-19 through school closures, and routine sexual and reproductive healthcare being given less priority.
“Shutting down of key facilities, combined with stockpiling of period products and the rise in financial poverty due to job loss or furlough has also increased demand for products with some menstrual equity organisations experiencing up to six times their ‘normal’ amount of requests.
“There have been some positive developments over the last 14 months though. For example, in November 2020 Scotland passed the Period Products (Free Provision) Bill making it a legal duty on local authorities to ensure that free period products are available to anyone who needs them.
“But more needs to be done centrally and what’s become even clearer during the last year is that the government’s target to end period poverty by 2030 will simply not be met if we don’t have a properly funded and bold menstrual equity policy.
“We simply cannot wait until the current Covid-19 pandemic is over to continue efforts to end period poverty.”