Earlier this week, Poppy took part in a panel event on period poverty for International Women’s Day at the University of Bristol’s Student Union.
Period poverty is defined as a lack of access to the materials, facilities and information needed to manage menstruation safely and with dignity. A survey by the charity Plan UK found that period poverty affects 3 in 10 girls in the UK, a problem which has grown since the pandemic and ‘cost of living’ crisis.
The event was hosted by Adishree Bansal, founder of Pleasantri and panellists included Ella Lambert, founder of the Pachamama Project and LinLu Ye, Equality Liberation and Access Officer at Bristol SU who is currently campaigning for free period products to be provided in university bathrooms for anyone who needs them.
The panel discussed the impacts of stigma and period poverty, sustainability issues and the role of institutions and policymakers in addressing these. Poppy spoke about her research, including findings from a study about young people’s menstrual education experiences.
Whilst the panel noted that there had been a lot of progress in recent years and conversations about period poverty and menstrual health were opening up, there is still much work to be done.
Happy International Women’s Day!
