Period poverty is real - how to deal?

[2BthatUnnoticed]

I don’t love the phrase “period poverty” but I know it’s real because I experienced it.

Why don’t I like the phrase? Because women in PP may also struggle with food, clothing, housing. We need to address “POVERTY - PERIOD” and its causes - not just one symptom of poverty.

And yet.

Period poverty IS a real feminist issue in my view. It affects education for girls (and not boys) in a way other aspects of poverty don’t. And education is the way out of poverty.

1. You can go to school hungry. It’s not ideal or easy but there are tricks to help you cope (sucking on something helps).

1. You cannot go to school with an unmanaged period. It would soak through, and no trick in the world would help.

1. Addressing PP helps equalise girls with boys. In our family we were (occasionally) a bit hungry or cold but we girls never missed school due to periods. I am lucky.

• did you ever experience PP (or know women who did)?

• how did you (they) deal with it?

• I know some “anti PP” campaigns are dodgy - either patronising or fetishising poor women. But if you know of a decent one feel free to mention.

Redbox are amazing. We have their boxes at youth groups that DH and I run.

Sorry pressed post too soon. We have posters up in our reception and main hall and the red box is in the girls toilets. It has pads, tampax, new knickers, wipes, even little bags to keep everything together in a school bag. If you need something you help yourself. Simple as that. Once a month a volunteer checks if we need anything replenishing.

Our employer (though even entry level roles way above living wage) have boxes in the ladies toilets. People are encouraged to take what they need, for outside of work as well.

Looking at period poverty on it's own is difficult. Because it's often that that someone cant afford SP, its they cant access them. When I was at school and when I have worked with teens, it was often that there was the money for it but it wasnt allowed.

One friends dad was a xonlkete abusive bastard and wouldnt pay for SP for his wife or 3 dd. This cunt all so had a long term OW who he had a son with. So just a bastard.

A 16 year old I worked with used to ask if anyone had SP every month I used to add a couple boxes to my shop and put then in her draw. Born her parents were abusive and alcoholics and took all her wages. I tried to support in other ways too.

Other times women simply think they arent the priority and will spend that few pound on their kids or partner instead.

In the job where the 16 year old had parents who took her wage, there was a kick off because lots of women took the step of having SP on their desks for people to freely take. This was about 10 years ago and men seemed very offended that SP shouldn't be seen. I was even told that I needed to be more discreet when walking to the toilet. Apparantly I should hide my tampon.

I was in my 20s and it was the first time I felt enraged about how women were treated. Like actual rage. Lots of us made a point to not back down.

Oddly I now work in a male dominated industry and non of them in the office give a shiney shit about seeing a tampon or period talk etc. It was actually a man, who started the boxes for women. He grew up very poor and saw his mum not leave the house for days, so she could spend that money on him and the other kids.

Also SP is something that is donated too food banks, less. I have worked in several food banks and its something they xouls do with more of.

Maybe moon cups might help? I realise they can be expensive, but are re-useable. I guess they can be hard in some jobs which are physical and long hours and unsuitable toilets. I would also like to try period pants - though again expensive to start with.

Red boxes established at my DD’s school. Now used as a term of ridicule by the boys. No problem for mixed sex toilets then...

Sorry - I should say a minority of boys -

My dd uses reusable pads many of which I have made for her. I would love to donate. They are easy to make. However, I realise that washing and drying them would be a big issue for women and girls in already difficult domestic or financial situations. My local RedBox charity won't take them.
I'm racking my brains to think of a solution to this. In the meantime, I donate disposables where I can.

Thanks all - also I saw a GC post elsewhere saying “period poverty is not a thing” which a lot of people misinterpreted, so I wanted to redress that. (I am not in period poverty myself - only while growing up).

would mop cups be feasible for teens?(avoiding unnecessary details, as I know we get trolled on this sometimes (I’m genuine, please AS me if in doubt!)

Sanitary protection can be donated to Food Banks however last time PP hit the news our local FB was inundated with SP and we had far too much, we ended up sharing it with local schools and the women’s refuge so please check with your local FB what they actually need.

In my work the ladies toilets have free tampons and towels. There is a sign on the box which says something like anyone can take them, but please only take what you need. There is no specific mention or intimation of not being able to afford your own, and I would bet most women who use them are just caught short as my employer pays very well in comparison to other employer's. However, if someone was struggling financially, I think they would feel very comfortable taking from the box.

Good point @Ragwort .

I have run a Redbox project in my area. Schools are now, from Jan 2020, receiving funding for Sanpro. How they make it available to kids is up to them, via a Redbox type arrangement or available in the office upon request. Redbox also often includes new pants, tights, wipes, a ziplock bag to put dirty underwear in etc.

Because funding is now available, all the Redbox projects have been closed. But period poverty in general still exists. I'm working with my council to provide (with their funding) sanpro in all council run buildings, leisure centres, libraries etc as well as donate to food banks and women's shelters.

Reusables - i use a moon cup and washable pads. I know full well what it takes to keep them clean and suitable for re use. The issues with childhood poverty (and I speak from my own lived experience) is that many children live in chaotic households. No sanpro is just one of the basics missing.

Access to a washing machine with a regular supply of washing powder, and somewhere to dry pads, is taken for granted by many. But lots of kids don't have this. That's why regularly wearing dirty clothes at school is a sign of neglect and should result in a safeguarding referral.

A moon cup needs to be emptied and cleaned with warm water multiple times a day. Then at the end of a cycle, it should be sterilised. In theory, a bottle of Milton and a cup of cold water is all that's needed. In practice, many children don't have spaces within their 'homes' (hostel, hotel room, sofa in someone else's living room) to store their own personal possessions. So a moon cup would be handy, but storing it and keeping it clean and safe to use is a practical problem that children aren't really equipped to deal with.

Poverty to this level needs to end, period! And this is a feminist issue. Men in prisons have established a human right to shave, and are therefore provided with shaving equipment free of charge. Women in prisons have to pay for their sanpro. No human right to it. So whilst the Redbox project has closed, the many volunteers who ran it will continue to fight for women and girls (and cervix havers if that's what they want me to call them) rights to be treated equally, regardless of biology.

It genuinely makes me sad to hear that redbox has closed. Not all schools will implement and equivalent sensibly, gender neutral bloody toilets are a massive barrier to girls accessing supplies and some girls need support out of the educational setting.

I’ve just asked our charities committee for funding to keep topping up our red boxes for the next year whilst I figure out something more sustainable.

It's great to hear whatnow40 that you and others are continuing to fight for redbox.
And no women on here will ever call you or other women a 'cervix haver'. In fact I would be very surprised to hear any woman using that offensive term. Only a vanishingly small number of people use such exclusionary and anti-women language. Not meaning to be critical - but when we can't use the words women and girls then we're in trouble

I really cant understand why a girl csnt go to a clinic or pharmacy and be given a pack of 25 basic pads for free. I cant see it costing any more than it does to give out condoms for example.

When I was in school, all of us girls were given a pack of sanitary towels as part of our sex education.

If schools replaced them with mooncups, nobody would ever run out of sanitary protection. I've had my mooncup for years and it cost just a couple of quid on ebay.

The restaurant i manage has the Red Box. The representative from the charity informed us that in the college where they started giving out the sanitary products we collected, attendance for girls increased 30%. Agree with @Feminazgul, pads/tampons could be distributed the same way condoms are. Or girls provided with menstrual cups and taught how to use them..

whatnow I really think menstrual cups are great option in the longer term. I never use warm water to wash mine and just put in boiling water for a few minutes at end of each cycle. Saves a fortune and very easy to manage. I think girls could learn to do these things with a little bit of help initially.
Lots of places in Scotland (where I am) including schools, and GP practices also now have free sanpro which is also a great thing imo

Great job that you are doing whatnow40

I never knew that women in jail had to pay for SP FFS

The branded sanitary products are really expensive. I have found the supermarket own brand ones really cheap and good quality. It's all relative though of course. If its the difference between food/heating and the basics, and other items such a sanitary towels, it's obvious what comes first.

In other countries fabric reusable (washable obviously) pads are used. This is a great idea, but easier said than done (like buying reusable or disposable nappies for babies). Hygiene and convenience v reusable. You could actually harm yourself with poorly cleaned, unhygienic products.

I personally found moon cup very hard to use (yikes very painful) and don't think they are nessesarily best for adolescent girls.
There is also the assumption that girls are getting help and support at home around this, not necessarily the case. Like a previous poster I too had horrible early experiences af trying to manage periods. I used to exclusively use toilet paper so I didn't have to ask for money to buy pads. I would hide blood soiled clothes. It might sound ridiculous now, but at the time I didn't really understand what was happening to me and found it distressing.

Great to see this subject being so public. Considering half the world has periods and all that entails, it's still a strangely taboo event. Sounds like there are some fantastic schemes out there.

Hi can I ask please why there is period poverty when you can buy Tesco own brand sanitary pads for less than 3p per pad. We grew up extremely poor but we always had pads and this was 4 women in the house. I am not trolling or looking to goad anyone, I genuinely don't understand.

I thoroughly wash my mooncup in the shower (with lots of soap) at the end of each cycle. Have done it for years with no issues - just make sure the soap is completely cleaned away.

Girls can definitely do that - it takes seconds and means that they don't need embarrassing (if they would be embarrassed by it?) sterilizing equipment.

TARSCOUT I agree that in more recent years sanitary products have become available very cheaply in supermarkets. It does seem strange to talk about period poverty, but its real.
lots of families struggle to buy basics. Many working families have to use food banks. People waiting for Universal Credit payments, people with no disposable income after basics, people with larger families hit by the 2 child rule. Distance and cost of getting to supermarkets may be an issue. its not the whole picture. Some girls live in chaotic homes with chaotic parents and do not receive the support they need.

Hi can I ask please why there is period poverty when you can buy Tesco own brand sanitary pads for less than 3p per pad. We grew up extremely poor but we always had pads and this was 4 women in the house. I am not trolling or looking to goad anyone, I genuinely don't understand

I was supporting a young woman recently who had been suddenly been made homeless and moved into a hostel. After she bought the basics she needed (no bedding, plates. cups, cutlery or pans provided by hostel) and the hostel service charge she was left with 32p a day. Luckily she was able to access a project for food and toiletries but you can see exactly why some women simply can't afford it.

You also need to think of transport. I live in a village where a return bus ticket to town to access Tesco would be around £6.

I am in Scotland, free san pro in schools, colleges and public buildings. I have seen mooncups in the college when I visit as well as pads and tampons.

This issue really bothered me. I bitch and moan about the price of sanitary products but ultimately I can afford them and its never been an issue for me. A few months ago I posted on a few of my local Facebook groups for charities supporting this and have started donating. It's mainly homeless charities as most schools in our region now provide these products free of charge through a government scheme. Causes also worth looking at are womens refuges. Local libraries usually collect for this cause also.