Period Poverty

Nearly half of the world's current population lives in poverty, with a further 1.3 billion living in extreme poverty, surviving on under the equivalent of $1.50 a day.  Even in England, a country that prides itself on its high quality of life and standard of living, 4.3 million people still live at or under the poverty threshold.

These are statistics we see every day -- statistics many of us could recite from memory. Regardless of where we read them, these are unequivocal facts that we know to be true; very few would question them, let alone deny them. So, when David Lammy, the Labour Minister for Tottenham and a social justice heavy-lifter, backed a campaign run by Amika George and The Red Box Project for school children to have access to period essentials, pads, and tampons in school restrooms, I expected the community to be receptive.

Instead, however, Lammy received an onslaught of abuse on Twitter, much of which not only argued against free sanitary products but rejected period poverty as a valid problem in itself. Lammy’s critics posted images of cheaper, unbranded tampons, arguing that any woman could afford them at twopence each. Others argued that conversations around periods should be left to charities so that the government can focus on real issues.

Here’s the thing: Does anyone deny that poverty exists? No...why would they? We appreciate and understand the biological need for food and water, so many of us feel inclined to donate these items to people in need. This then begs the question -- in a society that is both cognisant and receptive to the needs of our bodies, why do we deny the needs of menstruating women time and time again? How can we expect women from low-income families to pay for their own sanitary products when putting food on the table can be a challenge? How can we expect women to pay a pound ($1.30) for a packet of pads, when they may need one pack a day in some cases?  

If poverty exists, so does period poverty.

Today, over fourteen million people are considered to live in relative low income in England after accounting for housing costs. Assuming at least half are women, seven million people must figure out paying for their bodily needs on top of basic, daily necessities every time their body naturally and beautifully menstruates. Combine financial poverty with one exacerbated by stigma and gender inequality and you have a real problem. The research of Plan UK, one of the world’s largest children’s charities, showed that 10% of young girls cannot afford menstrual products in England, with a further 14% improvise with their sanitary wear.

It is 2019, we should not still let girls of any age miss school because of the inaccessibility to sanitary products. Girls should be allowed the opportunities as boys to spend their time thinking about Pythagoras, John Locke, and Aristotle...not worrying about who they can borrow a pound from to get an overpriced tampon from the dispenser.

If you believe that poverty is real and that everyone has a right to food, water, and shelter, then you should consider championing free periods as well. One woman for all, all for one.

By Sophia Parvizi-Wayne

Duke Student, leader of national campaign on mental health, Cross Country All-ACC, fashion alchemist, Huffington Post writer, and all-around world-runner.