Period Poverty - Not Someone Else’s Problem

Menstrual Hygiene Day falls on 28th of May this year, and to coincide with this, DK’s DE&I Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group have been writing articles to highlight and tackle the stigma around periods, perimenopause and the menopause, as well as their mental, economic, and environmental impact. This article highlights period poverty.  

A recent YouGov survey found that a whopping 30% of us have never even heard of the term “period poverty”. We here at DK’s  Mental Health & Wellbeing Working Group think it’s about time we get that percentage down.

The Royal College of Nursing defines period poverty as “the lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints…caused by a wide range of life events that negatively impact on a girl or woman's ability to access sanitary products to manage a most intimate and regular occurrence in her life.” While not only girls and women experience periods, this definition accurately describes the scale of this issue, however its limitation to “financial constraints” is restricting. The poll in the image below found that when asked what period poverty is, and faced with the options in the graph below, 78% of respondents were most likely to think period poverty includes the inability to afford period products, 43%  believed it includes the inability to access them, 28% the inability to access menstrual healthcare and 20% to access menstrual health education. Only a meagre 17% of respondents chose the correct answer of all 4 options, exposing that we still all have a lot to learn. 

Period poverty is not only a healthcare issue, but one that directly affects the education of those who cannot afford menstrual products, or do not have a safe place to use them. Reportedly 1 in 5 girls in the US have missed school because of a lack of access to menstrual products. This is extremely damaging when this could occur for younger people around 9 times a year and equates to a large amount of missed schooling, with this being estimated at 50 days a year in some countries. If school or work is missed, the person may lose their employment or have to drop out of school altogether. Many people also experience an overwhelming amount of cultural shame when they have their period, with stigma and myth reducing their ability to learn about periods in a healthy and responsible way. 

Period poverty affects people all over the world, and is likely affecting some of us across our offices here at DK. It’s estimated that currently over 137,000 children across the UK will miss school every year due to period poverty, with 1 in 8 menstruating people in the UK struggling to buy these products in the last 6 months for themselves or a dependant. On a more global scale, 1.25bn women and girls have no access to a private toilet, and 526m don’t have a toilet whatsoever. This will massively impact a person’s ability to use menstrual products safely and without shame.

In 2021, the British government abolished the controversial 5% VAT on period products, known as the “pink tax”. Efforts in India have also resulted in this tax elimination following months of activist campaigning. However this has been quickly supplanted by inflationary pressures. Tesco, for example, has since DOUBLED the price of its least expensive period pads from two pence per pad (23p for a pack) to four pence per pad (42p for a pack). We all need to acknowledge that period poverty could be affecting anyone around us, and this needs our attention.

No one should be held back because of their period. 

Here are 4 things we can ALL do to help:

END THE SHAME - Don’t be afraid to talk about periods, or wrinkle your nose at others who are comfortable chatting about them. Roughly 26% of the population menstruate, yet, as normal as this is, there is still a lot of taboo surrounding it. 

LISTEN - Listen to the people around you who menstruate, regardless of whether you do or not.

TEACH - Help to show that period poverty is real. You are now armed with stats!

SPEAK UP - In countries all over the world, including the UK and the USA, access to sex education is under threat. A new report commissioned by the UK government questions a “sex positive” approach to sex education that only seeks to reduce shame. Periods unequivocally will end up sitting under this. Protest, write to your MP, senator or representative, let your voice be heard.

Written by Frankie Hallam

Editor, Licensing and member of DK's Mental Health & Wellbeing Working Group

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