News / Health
‘It’s time to break stigma surrounding periods’
A group of women are animatedly discussing the pros and cons of different reusable sanitary pads at a conference with a difference on Monday morning.
People from across Bristol have gathered in City Hall for the UK’s first Period Poverty summit as part of a bid to eradicate an issue that sees girls suffering humiliation and missing school because they can’t afford to buy basic products.
A study by Plan International found that 48 per cent of girls aged 14-21 in Britain are embarrassed by their periods, highlighting a need for better education and awareness to break the stigma.
is needed now More than ever
Helen Godwin (pictured with Chloe Tingle of No More Taboo) says she wants to encourage wider debate about periods
“Around 137,000 girls are missing school because of their period and that was the tragedy that made me think ‘how can we tackle this in Bristol’” says Helen Godwin, Bristol City Council’s cabinet member for women and families.
“I was determined that if we were to make a statement in Bristol that we would eradicate period poverty, it had to be backed up by action. We want to encourage a wider debate about periods full stop.”
Bringing an end to period poverty has been identified as one of Bristol’s key priorities for 2019.
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Taking to the podium, mayor Marvin Rees says that with a city-wide drive, there is the chance to instigate real changes.
The summit comes in the wake of a Bristol Live article reporting that an 11-year-old girl was left to bleed through her clothes because she wasn’t allowed to leave her classroom.
The first step to fulfilling the council’s pledge is to ensure all schools in Bristol are provided with sanitary products and work is also going into analysing pupil feedback, public health data and attendance figures to assess the full extent of the problem.
“I’m concerned that we might know girls living with period poverty but because of the taboo, we don’t know they are,” says Pippa Steel of Girl Guiding – which has launched a campaign to tackle period poverty – as she addresses the room in City Hall.
“We hope to get as many members of the public as possible talking about periods to break the stigma.”
People from across the city gathered for the UK’s first period poverty summit
“It’s really important that young people are aware of this issue and that it’s talked about in order to tackle the taboo,” agrees Hannah Hier, Bristol’s youth mayor.
Jane Wilson, who runs the Red Box Project in south Bristol, supplying free sanitary products to schools, says that the growing need for the boxes proves it is a real issue in the city. But she adds that it is one most people are unaware of.
Stakeholders in the city are aiming to tackle the ‘Toxic Trio: the cost of period products, lack of education and the taboo, shame and stigma associated with menstruation.
Jane says she has received feedback from a teacher whose female student had always taken a week off every month, but was in school full time since the introduction of the Red Box.
The Red Box Project supplies period products to schools
There is also a focus on sustainability, involving boys in education about periods and the different issues faced by girls and women across the many different cultures and faiths in Bristol.
Speaking about some of the myths surrounding periods, Chloe Tingle of Gloucester Road-based not-for-profit enterprise No More Taboo, says: “One of the most shocking things we heard was that some young girls really believe periods are blue – that’s how damaging advertising can be.”
The summit heard that in some areas, a high percentage of girls and women are unable to afford sanitary products
The council is aiming to ensure that every school – including primaries – across the city is able to provide free sanitary products.
The city-wide intention is to bring an end to period poverty by the end of 2019.
Read more: Bristol pledges to tackle period poverty
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