Period Poverty – The Facts
What is Period Poverty?
Period poverty is the lack of access to period products due to financial constraints. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, and resulting lockdowns, period poverty increased for many women and girls across the country as people found their household income falling, lack of supply in shops and the closure of many free sources of products.
Research from Plan International UK has revealed that during the pandemic 3 in 10 girls (30%) struggled to afford or access period products.
When asked how they had managed their periods during this time, over half (54%) of these girls said they used toilet paper as an alternative to period products. However, one in five girls (20%) said their periods have also been harder to manage during the pandemic due to the lack of toilet roll available.
In 2019, the government made period products freely available in schools across the country in a welcome move to combat period poverty. However, as most schools, youth and community centres closed, girls were unable to access period products and were left with nowhere to turn.
Plan’s research showed that of the 17% of girls who said they have been unable to or struggled to afford period products in lockdown:
Over a third (37%) did not try to access any free sources of products
Two fifths (42%) of those said they did not know where to go to get them
A third (30%) felt too embarrassed to seek out a source of free products
30% did not know who to ask
Source: https://plan-uk.org/period-poverty-in-lockdown
“Not having enough money to buy any pads or tampons was heart breaking and stressful”
How can you help?
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Give one of our donation bins a home
Do you have an office, shop or community space? Then why not host one of our pink collection bins and help us collect vital items for women and girls experiencing period poverty in the city.
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Donate something on our wishlist
We welcome donations of items with open arms! Items can be donated via one of our collection points, by contacting us or via our Amazon List.
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Join our volunteer team
We believe many hands make light work and we’re always happy to welcome willing volunteers, whether its to help with donation deliveries, support us with marketing or social media, or collect vital supplies from our fantastic partners.
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Help us raise funds
With your help we can raise money to support our vital services which are all run by volunteers from our community. Whether its a cake sale, a sponsored run or something more whacky we appreciate every donation!
