Period poverty and not being able to afford sanitary products

[youdothebestvoices]

I recently saw something somewhere about the tax that is on feminine hygiene products (tampons, pads) and although the tax has been scrapped, this was never reflected in the cost of the products, and therefore the companies are just making more money without benefits being passed on to the consumer. This is unfair, of course.

This prompted a wider discussion around period poverty, and I suggested people try to switch to reusables if possible. Better for the environment, better for your pocket long term. I've been using them for about a year and I've probably saved around £70 this year and they're all going strong, no staining, I'll probably have them for several years before I need to think about replacing. I got a bit of stick for this saying how are people meant to be able to afford reusables if they can't afford disposables.
I think a starter pack of reusable pads will cost around £30 - £40, which includes everything you generally need for one full period, and individuals will cost somewhere in the region of between £3 - £7. There is also the option of making your own. A box of disposables will be somewhere between £1 - £7 depending on the brand you choose.
A reusable cup is circa £20 and there are other options too.

I really don't care if somebody chooses to use disposables, I opted for reusables once I realised how much I'd save long term, that I could get them customised for my flow (meaning I use three times less pads per day), better for the environment, less likely to give you thrush. Regardless of this, they aren't for everyone, that is fine.

But here is a serious question, and I am sorry if this comes from a place of privilege. Has anyone ever met anyone (in the uk) that cannot afford sanitary products? I am sure that there are people that can't, but how common is period poverty?

I can't say that I have met anyone who struggles to afford them. We are a working class household, I know several people that are on UC and receive other benefits, but none of them have ever said they struggle to buy sanitary products (this does include households with multiple women in), several of them have also opted for using period pants, cups, or similar, because they feel the initial cost is worth it longer term. Some that use disposables have just said they buy extra when they are on offer.

I'm really sorry if this is a thoughtless post and I also know that not everyone will chat to people about how easy they find it to purchase feminine hygiene products but I genuinely want to know how common this is, because I don't think I actually do know.
If you are somebody who has struggled to purchase these in the past, or now, I don't want this post to cause any offence as I genuinely want to understand if this is a common issue.

If you want to vote:
YABU - period poverty is really common
YANBU - I don't think I have met somebody who struggles with purchasing these

Another one here who had to use toilet tissue as a teen as had no pads (neglectful home), or access to money. I'm sure there are many other teen girls in this situation now.

I'll never forget the embarrassment of climbing over a wall with school friends and them seeing my stained underwear.

Sanitary wear should be available to all girls under 18s free of charge these days. Its not like having periods is a choice. It should also be free for all adult women too of course in a so called first world country.

It's not like men have a monthly need for something biological (that's without the pain and discomfort). You could say it's discriminatory that women have to pay a cost for something just because they are a woman!

Speaking to family who are in teaching period poverty is real. They get donations from Always which they dish out to girls who need them, this is after monitoring attendance and speaking to girls one to one as Pastoral leads to find out what is happening.
it is embarrassing and these young ladies don’t always feel comfortable telling parents about what they need as they don’t want to burden them with cost.

I made do on many occasions because I didn't have a choice. By made do, I mean using anything absorbent as a substitute mostly toilet roll. I have definitely not told a living soul this IRL. My periods were very light. Others are not so fortunate.

I work in a school with a large amount of disadvantaged children and period poverty is a very real issue - with the knock on effect on attendance in some cases. We provide sanitary products for many many students whose families struggle to afford them.

Why free?

Everyone has to shower but no one gets free soap and hot water?

Toilet roll - we all have to wipe our ass.

Why should the families with the Range Rover be given free sanitary products?

Dental hygiene is also an issue in low income families.

How about we recognise that POVERTY is an issue and part of that is females menstruating.

A pack of Aldi pads is about 75p ( or it was not sure as everything has gone up) but I can appreciate that not everyone uses one pack per period. I can appreciate that not everyone can use these cheap brands due to exzama etc.

The people I feel for are young girls with parents who font priorities them.

As I said on your last post, I have bought everything I need to use 100% reusable for about £40. It's the money needed up front. I bought my period pants over a few months and one or two pairs lasts me all day with my mooncup. But I know others would need more.

It's certainly common in Scotland. That's why every public toilet and school has to provide a range of free sanitary care.

The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021

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A pack of Aldi pads is about 75p ( or it was not sure as everything has gone up) but I can appreciate that not everyone uses one pack per period.
It looks like Tesco have cut their prices, they have a 16 pack of the ultra pads for 50p now.

I agree. No one should be paying for period products. It should be free for all women. we don't ask for the red fairy once a month. It's shit.

To answer @Wonderingifitstimetogo I (over) shared as I was trying to make the point that no one knows who is going through poverty, period or otherwise. Ours at the time was a combination of buying in a climbing market, based on my (very good) salary, hitting the housing market crash
Then losing my job to illness/disability I have never recovered from.

DH was on min wage as he was a thick ignorant loser who used to claim the dole and spent it all on beer, big tvs and fags. Hes 3 other kids from before so he didnt want to earn more then min wage so he didnt have to pay child support(Joke see below)

OR we were both relatively young I had stayed in my home country for Uni and gone straight to work whilst gaining a professional qualification on the side.

DH went to Uni elsewhere took a year during uni to work in America, then went travelling for 3 years,.so when we met I was quite high up the career ladder and his 2.1.in psychology was literally not worth the paper it was written on.
But he pulled through got a professional qualification too and now has a great job, hence luckily even with things being as they are now...
so far we are keeping afloat.

I suppose I was making that point because at THIS point in time there will be people having to do similar to to the things I was to save money...whist to an outsider seeming "affluent"

Mooncups and their equivalents are also very hard/impossible to use if you have any sort of disability in your hands. I find it hard enough with my non applicator tampons -.but as before feel I must atone for my tampax pearl obsession, and also the amount of single use plastic we use here due to medical equipment

And again wondering just so it doesn't keep you up all night my house was £220,000 and dropped overnight to 120k.

I also keep myself supported these days by benefits PIP and ESA, and I'm lucky I have a husband who believes all money is family money. As financial abuse can cause period poverty too.

Also I'm amazed by Scotland this model needs to be used elsewhere! Is if for everyone or do you need referred? Schemes such as this are fab but hard for those who don't meet the criteria by an arbitrary pound or something

There Will always be People who will take just because it is free but wouldn't it be great if this scheme could be UK wide and used on an honesty basis.

Sorry for waffling on. Any more questions you have wondering (great username) just ask

You are very mistaken as to who asked you questions. I have not asked you any.

Any more questions you have wondering (great username) just ask

But you are right, I've had enough people make it very clear that I am not worthy of being here over the last few days. Time to go.

You know what. No one has ever told me that they are struggling to afford period products. But I’m not fucking naive enough to think it can’t happen. Young girls with neglectful parents who don’t buy enough/any sanpro. A mother who has £1 left: spend it on pasta to feed the kids, or tampons?

The cost of reusables isn't just about the initial investment though is it? How about the ongoing cost of laundry powder and running a washing machine at the correct temperature to actually sterilise them? Even if hand washing, cost of heating the water, the water meter itself and hand wash detergent. Then drying - living in a damp flat in winter?
The local food banks to us were asking people to not donate dried pasta, as people couldn't afford to boil the water to cook it. That's the reality for some.

Even mooncups have issues. I remember reading an article about a period poverty charity handing out mooncups in third world countries - the girls and women didn't have the means to sterilise them properly and were getting infections.

@Wonderingifitstimetogo Huge apologies I got on my high horse and didn't read properly....I am very sorry to have made accusations against you when you were being entirely reasonable.
Please don't leave the thread I have made a mistake in tagging you because you responded to someone else and both your usernames came up. Xx

Now @nubtheoryhhh My rant was aimed at you!

I don't know why poverty is categorised. What next, milk poverty? bread poverty? Toothpaste poverty?

I’m 37 now, but I remember being 15 years old in 2001 and living with my alcoholic father.
My mum moved 150 miles away because she left him and I wanted to stay in my hometown etc.
She would send me money every week.
I didn’t see a penny because he would take it unbeknownst to my mum.
I asked him for a pound for the cheapest pads I could get. He said no because the pub he went to at the time was £1 a pint and it would mean one less.
I actually stole whole toilet rolls from parks because they were big ones and used to roll it up when I had to.
If friends invited me round for dinner, I accepted because there was no food at home. We didn’t have a fridge or a cooker. Just a microwave.
No washing machine either so my friends parents would give me jars of wash powder so I could hand wash my clothes.
I was embarrassed asking my friends if they could “spare” a pack of sanitary pads.
I ended up going to the local family planning clinic and begging them for contraceptives that would stop me bleeding which they did.
Eventually, I went back to living with my mum because living with an alcoholic was impossible.
Unfortunately, there are thousands of girls still living with parents that are addicts/alcoholics and do not have an escape or a humane standard of living.
Period poverty is real.
Poverty is real.
It has actually made me overbuy sanitary products as an adult so I never have to experience it again. I have a drawer full “just in case”.

So women who may be on low wages can have free tampons? Was it that hard to infer?
Are you stupid or just obtuse?

It's less about the "period" than the "poverty" part.
From my perspective, period hygiene products don't affect my budget at all. Menstrual cups lasting for years (2 for 11 GBP) + Primark menstrual panties (3 for 13) + Boots sanitary towels for some occasions (0.63 GBP per pack). Average cost is less than 3 GBP per month.

However, this assumes:

• privacy to clean and sterilise the cup (easiest and cheapest in a microwave) and washing machine to wash the panties
• time to go to the Boots to stock up on the cheapest sanitary towels

I'd imagine that people facing true poverty would struggle with those.

"I'm amazed by Scotland this model needs to be used elsewhere! Is if for everyone or do you need referred? "

No. You don't need to be referred. You can request a period products pack via the local authority website. I do this on a regular basis so I don't need to pay for any period products. You can mix and match reusable and disposable products. There are lots of different combinations.

Also schools and colleges provide free period products in their buildings etc, in Scotland.

You really need to understand the concept of living hand to mouth - it's the same as asking why not buy two so you get the 3 for two offer? Many people are struggling to have the cash for one, let alone two. Buying sanitary ware for £40 is a luxury. And sure, make your own - buy the fabric, the cotton to stitch with, the pattern, the sewing machine....

I use reusables and period pants too. Both effective.

As a teen, I lived with my Dad and was too embarrassed to ask for sanitary products and used to use toilet roll. I remember stealing 3 pads from a friends house and felt like a Queen, however she found out and that's when the bullying started.

There's no way I could have got the money then to buy a reusable starter pack when I couldn't afford 99p for pads.

Now I'd like to think that things have changed but am aware that girls can easily still be in the situation I was.

At my child's secondary school they offer free sanitary products and the girl can ask at the nurses room. The system isn't abused so I make sure I donate 4 packs a month there.

Moon cups are not regulated, they are not standardised nor have they been through enough /any(??) Clinical trials to be deemed safe for use.

Women are being sold items without even the basic level of testing used for other products. Some women have suffered a prolapse and attributed it to these products - however how would we know for sure?!? No governing body deems it important enough to explore and rigorously test this vital issue.

So. Before we suggest that people afflicted by period poverty get given these ramshackle produces (thereby potentially adding to their issues), let's ensure that women are convinced that their health will not be compromised.

Yet again, research regarding women's health is decades behind men's and who pays the price? Us.

https://www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resources-and-publications/library/details/3901#

I write this from a position of privilege..

But WTF OP?!

We have a cost of living crisis - if you are struggling to eat, pay the bills, and keep a roof over your head, how likely is it you wouldn’t struggle to avoid tampax?

Yep, me. I was once a broke girl, trying to live independently at age 17 and absolutely could not afford the luxury of sanitary products. I had to choose between food and pads every month for several years.

It actually became a habit and was still using loo roll to line my knickers, into my late 30s.

Poverty mindset sticks.