Period Poverty affects people all around the world. A surprising number of people struggle to access safe menstrual products due to finances or a lack of education on what is safe to use.
Period Poverty affects people all around the world. A surprising number of people struggle to access safe menstrual products due to finances or a lack of education on what is safe to use. In a survey of 193 students at CCCU we found that 41.5% of students have at some point been unable to afford period products. This is a staggering statistic and one that desperately needs to be combatted.
The ultimate belief is that periods should not be costing individuals money or be the reason that they are struggling financially.
A big part of the period awareness campaign is about having open and honest conversations about periods and how issues surrounding them affect individuals locally and globally.
It's clear that tackling period poverty in Further and Higher Education is an essential issue and needs to be addressed because, students who struggle to afford sanitary products may have to miss classes, or have to risk their health by using menstrual items for longer than is safe.
Some individuals face such hardship that they have to use makeshift alternatives like toilet paper, used socks, other fabric or even newspaper. This carries an increased risk of infection and is ineffective at controlling bleeding.
Periods are not a choice, yet sanitary products are treated like a luxury rather than a necessity. That is why the Students' Union are working to provide free sanitary products to all of the students that need them and combat the stigma around periods to make it easier to ask for help.