{"id":939,"date":"2023-08-11T08:30:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T07:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redstarwealth.co.uk\/blog\/?p=939"},"modified":"2023-03-11T14:00:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T14:00:48","slug":"period-poverty-continues-to-be-an-issue-across-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redstarwealth.co.uk\/blog\/period-poverty-continues-to-be-an-issue-across-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Period Poverty Continues to be an Issue Across the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a continued issue of period poverty in the UK, where those who menstruate don\u2019t always have proper access to sanitary products or adequate menstrual health education.<\/p>\n

Inability to Afford Sanitary Products<\/h2>\n

A survey commissioned by ActionAid UK<\/a>, carried out by YouGov in May 2022, found that 12% of people in Great Britain struggled to buy menstrual products in the last 6 months, either for them or for a dependent.<\/p>\n

The continued cost-of-living crisis surely must serve to exacerbate this issue of period poverty. Numerous articles have adopted the phrase \u2018heat or eat\u2019 to typify the difficult decisions we must make during these difficult times. But where do periods come into this? It is easy to imagine how many going through period poverty will be tackling an even tougher choice, \u2018heat or eat or tampons,\u2019 though that\u2019s probably not catchy enough for the headlines!<\/p>\n

The Royal College of Nursing<\/a> estimated that over 137,000 children over the UK have missed school days due to period poverty.<\/p>\n

This is a shocking insight into how being unable to afford or access sanitary products can hinder the everyday lives and education of children.<\/p>\n

A Need for Education<\/h2>\n

A YouGov survey<\/a> conducted August 2022, sampling 1,696 adults in Great Britain, saw 60% of Britons say they had heard of period poverty and know what it means.<\/p>\n

However, upon presenting them with a number of scenarios and asking which ones were components of period poverty, only 17% answered correctly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In addition to this, Plan International\u2019s 2017 report<\/a> found that 14% of girls admitted they didn\u2019t know what was happening when they got their period, with 26% not knowing what to do.<\/p>\n

These findings highlight how much we need to increase education around periods to reduce the \u2018period taboo\u2019. If people are uneducated about their period, how can we expect them to take proper care of themselves in a way that is both safe and hygienic? How can we expect them to seek help in accessing period products if they are too embarrassed to talk about it?<\/p>\n

The Dangers of Period Poverty<\/h2>\n

Many who cannot afford sanitary products may use the limited ones they have for longer than is appropriate. Not only is this uncomfortable, unpleasant and unhygienic but it can also be very dangerous. For example, leaving a tampon in too long can lead to toxic shock syndrome<\/a> from bacteria entering your body.<\/p>\n

People who menstruate may also be at a higher risk of this if they aren\u2019t properly educated about their period, as they won\u2019t be aware of how to properly and safely deal with their period.<\/p>\n

Our \u2018Tampon Tax\u2019 Past<\/h2>\n

As of January 2021, a zero rate of VAT now applies to sanitary products, just like with other tax-exempt necessities. Whilst this is most definitely a thing to celebrate, we must question why this \u2018tampon tax\u2019 remained in force for so long.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s a culture of periods being treated as taboo, perhaps it\u2019s because most MPs who vote on these types of decisions are cisgender men who have never personally experienced a period. Whatever the reason, the delay in the removal of VAT from sanitary products is a testament to how much menstruation is dismissed, side-lined, and ignored in our society.<\/p>\n

\n

Overall, tackling period poverty is not just about removing barriers to accessing adequate menstrual products to all who need it. It is also about increasing the education around periods to remove stigma and ignorance.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a continued issue of period poverty in the UK, where those who menstruate don\u2019t always have proper access to sanitary products or adequate menstrual health education. Inability to Afford Sanitary Products A survey commissioned by ActionAid UK, carried out by YouGov in May 2022, found that 12% of people in Great Britain struggled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[507,508,302,503,504,502,498,497,495,506,512,511,496,509,505,501,499,500,510],"yoast_head":"\nPeriod Poverty Continues to be an Issue Across the UK - Red Star Wealth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Those who menstruate don\u2019t always have proper access to sanitary products or adequate menstrual health education\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redstarwealth.co.uk\/blog\/period-poverty-continues-to-be-an-issue-across-the-uk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Period Poverty Continues to be an Issue Across the UK - 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