Coronavirus means people are relying on makeshift products to tackle periods

Only a few weeks after celebrating the axing of the tampon tax – due to be scrapped when the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December – many of those who menstruate faced another crisis. 

It was one that saw our small charity, which helps provide period products to those in need, become inundated with requests from people unable to access tampons and sanitary pads during the coronavirus lockdown.

We’ve heard from one woman who suffers from endometriosis, which can cause heavy bleeding, while another told us she can’t afford pads and is having to use wads of tissue. 

But she’s not the only one being forced to use makeshift items to stem their flow – we know that others are using socks, newspapers and even, in the case of one woman we work with, her baby’s used nappy.

That’s because period products are not free. 

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Shockingly, we have also begun to supply entire departments of NHS workers who are short of cash or too overworked to even attempt to pick up supplies at their local supermarket. 

Even those who are usually able to afford the relatively high price of disposable pads and tampons are finding the euphemistically named ‘feminine hygiene’ aisle empty due to stockpiling. While a trip to the cornershop can remedy the situation for some (via an often extortionately priced box of Tampax), this is not an option for many. 

When the shelves are empty, it feels tempting to blame those who may be hoarding pads with apparent disregard for others. But these actions should only serve to show us how essential period products are for anyone who bleeds. 

Foodbanks, beauty and hygiene banks (which also provide sanitary goods) and charities like ourselves rely on the generosity of the public for donations. But now, when people have less money and opportunity to donate due to social distancing, it is harder to supply period products. 

Many foodbanks have also been forced to close due to social distancing measures and have pivoted their activities to include delivery of food parcels wherever possible. But this has proved to be a problem for asylum-seekers who are often moved around the country by the Home Office, which means many of them can’t be reached by the foodbanks that usually supply them. 

Period products should be free for anyone who needs them and available at locations accessible to the most vulnerable in our society

But this isn’t just an adult problem. With the closure of many schools, lots of young people are concerned about how they are going to access their much relied-upon pads and tampons – remember, it was only at the start of this year that the government allowed schools in England to order period products to give for free to children who are unlikely to afford them. 

Periods most certainly do not pause for a pandemic and, during such a traumatic time, it’s not inconceivable that menstruation could become even more difficult for some.

As one asylum-seeking woman told us, for a previous collaborative report with Women for Refugee Women, ‘The stress of destitution changed my menstruation cycle. I was so worried about where we would eat, what would happen, I began bleeding more often.’ 

The solution is obvious, of course – period products should be free for anyone who needs them and available at locations accessible to the most vulnerable in our society.

Right now, as we grapple with Covid-19, but also in ‘normal’ times, the free availability of these most basic of products is crucial for the self-esteem, health and mobility of at least half our population. 

Menstruation is still a highly stigmatised taboo subject for many, but it is also a reality and people who menstruate need access to period products. Homeless shelters and asylum-seeker drop-in centres face numerous requests for period products, but didn’t (and still don’t) have the budgets to provide them. 

Since 2016, Bloody Good Period has been plugging that gap, so to speak, providing period products to those who can’t afford them and campaigning for the systemic change required for true menstrual equity.

 By our estimation, we’ve taken care of over 70,000 periods in the past three years, but, due to their nature – they happen every bloody month – we cannot stop our work.

To support Bloody Good Period, head to bloodygoodperiod.com/donate

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing stephanie.soh@metro.co.uk 

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