Girls missing school because of poverty

[user1496170327]

Hello Everyone!

Thanks to everyone who suggested posting in this thread!

I'm a teenage girl who's started a campaign to help girls who can't afford sanitary products.

Some of you may have read recently that girls across the UK skip school because they can't face the shame of going to school without adequate sanitary care.

Some use socks, toilet roll and sellotape, or even newspaper. Young girls are living in such extreme poverty, and I believe this must be discussed and addressed, especially when this can harm their health.

I was absolutely horrified that this is happening in Britain and felt that something had to be done. So, I'm calling on the government to provide free sanitary provision for girls in need, as a first step. I'm writing to MPs every day and the response, so far, has been really positive. I think that this is something that can happen with enough support!

I'm really hoping that you will agree that this is so very important- that all girls should be able to access essential care and go to school with confidence and that we should not be disadvantaged because of our gender. May I ask you to add your name to my petition to the government, and if you could share on social media, that would be amazing!

https:/https://www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-free-sanitary-products-for-girls-on-free-school-meals-freeperiods

I'm writing an article for a newspaper about period poverty in schools, and if you've been in this dreadful situation yourself, I'd really appreciate it if you could get in touch, if you're happy to!

Thank you so much for your support!! I really appreciate it, and I believe that if enough people want to change this situation, we can make it happen. Thanks again!

[email protected]

Signed. I've shared the link with friends and family too on text.

This is important so well done OP.

This is horrible.
No girl should be suffering without sanitary products. I can't even imagine this.

Something must be done about this desperately.

Signed (and shared on social media). Glad you raised this.

HildaOg I'm applaud at your comment. Are you in the Uk? The system at the moment is targeting the unemployed in this country so bad that single parents have to wait 16 weeks to receive their benefits. Food banks do not usual include such products when they are handing out groceries to such people. So, what this teenager is saying is becoming the norm for children who's parents are part of the 3 million or so unemployed. In fact unemployment especially in the North of England is even higher than that. Only one in four people in some towns have a job, And even then it is very poorly paid. Sign the petition Hildaorg and lets help them out.

Well done OP.
This drive is of huge importance and I for one will promote it.
Those of you who don't think these girls should be helped- stop judging!
Many of these girls are voiceless victims. Parental neglect or not, they need a way out.

Signed. Posted on FB too.

I've signed.

I'm sad to see so much denial of poverty here.

These girls are indeed the victims.

If they are so poor why are they having children? And no I doubt all their husbands have died. The world is in the state it is because of human overpopulation, all aid, charity, welfare should be addressed at this one issue.

If you give the parents more welfare many of the parents will spend it on drink/drugs.

Too many humans not enough planet.

user1471452804

Lost for words reading your comment.

Wow user1471452804 super ignorance here!

Have some empathy. You don't know what poverty feels like and people have found themselves in poverty because their circumstances change. You should count yourself lucky you haven't been there but making comments like this shows a real lack of compassion.

If you give the parents more welfare many of the parents will spend it on drink/drugs.

Seriously?

What a sheltered life you must lead in your bubble. user1471452804

I urge you to read some of the comments here, the stories of hardship and many of them will tear your heart in two.

To say what you've said above shows utter contempt for what has been said in this thread by people who are trying to make a living doing the best they can for their families.

To judge and condemn is heartless.

Obvious that certain people are deaf to the suffering of others.

I've signed. Well done OP

I've signed and shared.

I can't believe this is going on in the U.K. today. We should be ashamed that we're letting it happen without lobbying for change so well done to the starter of this petition for getting it discussed.

I'm just so sad thinking about the stress that girls go through in not being able to afford sanpro.
This is 2017 FFS not the Victorian era.
Signed and shared on FB too

I've signed.

Well done - a teen trying to change injustice. Shame some of the adults don't understand that people's lives are different.
Don't criticise or belittle. I've battled with poverty for years and I'm a teetotaller and non smoker and no I've never done drugs. I work full time.
Any money I have goes on survival.

This thread is sad but reality
Some people can barely make ends meet....and I feel the pain.....please understand not everyone the same.
We are all different. Young girls need to be helped...the government has to see that they need help....everyone has a part to play to make that happen....

Good on you lass for getting this going! There's a lot of people here who recognise that girls should not be using socks or tissues and many will have long lasting damage from the trauma of not coping well.
Perhaps in some cases it's neglect, but its criminal to sit back and do nothing!

People aren't getting it.

A huge number of girls (GIRLS as young as 9, 10, 11) are being made responsible for buying their own sanitary protection. If their parents can't spare the money, or don't care enough to buy it, how will children get it themselves?

They won't, is the answer. They will stuff their underwear with wads of toilet paper or scraps of fabric. They will stay off school.

It's 2017 and our daughters are missing school because they're female.

the level of ignorance on here from some posters is shocking.

I'm a grown woman and I can't afford sanpro, this week is not so bad, I've £4 in my bank to last a week, food in the cupboards and freezer for my DS and have sanpro. Am lightheaded and dizzy because I can only eat one meal a day but hey, least I'm not bleeding everywhere. Last month I had food but very little sanpro, and had to wear a pad until it was literally too full to wear any longer. Those levels of poverty do exist whether your blinkered view of life allows you to see that or not.
Fwiw I don't smoke, I don't drink, I certainly don't take drugs. I'm just a bog standard single mum on benefits struggling to get a job.
I live 5 miles away from a shop and the bus is a fiver.

I've signed and shared, I personally don't care whether it's poverty or parental neglect or a combination of the both. These girls need help. How anyone can begrudge the idea of giving young girls, some children, and teenagers, sanitary products which are as essential as toothpaste and toilet roll, is utterly beyond me.

SailAwayWithMeHoney thank you for eloquently telling us just how bad it can get. There are posters here who clearly can't see beyond the end of their nose. It hurts. It angers. But it shows ignorance and lack of compassion.
I applaud you for sharing your experience with us all. The majority of us care.

and LadyGlitterSparklesSeriously i agree. it matters not a jot that it might be parental neglect. Many of these girls are too young to get jobs and are reliant on their parents to provide them with sanpro or money to buy it. If their parents don't provide, as a nation of people with some humanity and as a nation that provides a health service, we have a duty to see that these girls can go to school without bleeding over their clothes.

I'm ashamed of the attitudes of some people here. As a teacher in a deprived school i keep sanpro in my bag for those girls who 'forgot' to bring them in. I can see how distressed they are and i can see how much anxiety is etched on their faces. Some can't concentrate on lessons, I know why it is.
Please, let's help them. The solution is simple. The question is actually not why, but how.

This is ridiculous. We are talking about the United Kingdom for goodness sake, in 2017. I am in utter disbelief that this is happening today and reading this thread....well, gobsmacked. People are ignorant, yes, but rest assured that the vast majority of citizens will agree this is an abhorrent situation and girls missing school because of period poverty cannot happen.
Signed and shared. THank you

I've signed and shared.
Families are facing long waits for benefits to come through and it's a real problem in that interim period.
Girls missing school in 2017 because they're born as girls in wrong.
To do nothing is worse.

Well done for this OP.

I'll add that I think some posters here are seeking controversy, I can't actually believe that people can be so inhuman.

I've signed.

Thanks for bringing this issue to our attention. I can't believe it's happening either. These girls need help.

Even if you want to blame the parents, it's not the young girls who are at fault.

Missing school leads to a whole set of problems. I'm a teacher and this happens at my school. I'm glad something is being circulated for awareness and hopefully a solution isn't too far away.