This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/16/free-tampons-schoolgirls-menstruation-period-education

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Never mind free tampons – schoolgirls need education about their periods Never mind free tampons – schoolgirls need education about their periods
(35 minutes later)
I woke up this week to the news that we were being urged to buy tampons for a worthy cause again. According to the charity Freedom4Girls, a school in Leeds has reported that girls are missing school because they can’t afford to buy menstrual products. In response, individuals and charities are donating disposable menstrual products, and calling for them to be provided free in all schools.I woke up this week to the news that we were being urged to buy tampons for a worthy cause again. According to the charity Freedom4Girls, a school in Leeds has reported that girls are missing school because they can’t afford to buy menstrual products. In response, individuals and charities are donating disposable menstrual products, and calling for them to be provided free in all schools.
Donating free tampons for ever is a nice idea, but it’s a short-term solution that benefits multinational corporations as much as it helps kids, if not more so. Austerity and food poverty (including household toiletries poverty, which includes disposable menstrual products) have highlighted a bigger problem that was masked by the relative financial comfort in the UK a decade or so ago. The menstrual taboos were always there, though. It’s time to acknowledge that we need to start working on medium- and long-term solutions, such as improving menstruation education, removing branding from school resources and eradicating the period taboo for ever.Donating free tampons for ever is a nice idea, but it’s a short-term solution that benefits multinational corporations as much as it helps kids, if not more so. Austerity and food poverty (including household toiletries poverty, which includes disposable menstrual products) have highlighted a bigger problem that was masked by the relative financial comfort in the UK a decade or so ago. The menstrual taboos were always there, though. It’s time to acknowledge that we need to start working on medium- and long-term solutions, such as improving menstruation education, removing branding from school resources and eradicating the period taboo for ever.
We need to stop leaving lesson plans to companies that are in any way linked to the menstrual product industryWe need to stop leaving lesson plans to companies that are in any way linked to the menstrual product industry
The news from Leeds was greeted with some very privileged “surely this can’t happen here” handwringing. But this isn’t even a recent development in the UK – it’s just the first time mainstream media has covered it; for those who research school absence, it’s nothing new.The news from Leeds was greeted with some very privileged “surely this can’t happen here” handwringing. But this isn’t even a recent development in the UK – it’s just the first time mainstream media has covered it; for those who research school absence, it’s nothing new.
In a letter published in the British Medical Journal in 2010, Dr Daniel Hindley noted that in a Bolton NHS foundation trust study, “menstruation problems” was listed as the fifth most common school absence reason among 251 primary and secondary pupils referred to the trust. He concluded: “It is essential that preventive and early intervention should be seen as the cornerstone of multi-agency working to ensure pupils’ right to education and to protect their health and wellbeing.”In a letter published in the British Medical Journal in 2010, Dr Daniel Hindley noted that in a Bolton NHS foundation trust study, “menstruation problems” was listed as the fifth most common school absence reason among 251 primary and secondary pupils referred to the trust. He concluded: “It is essential that preventive and early intervention should be seen as the cornerstone of multi-agency working to ensure pupils’ right to education and to protect their health and wellbeing.”
But that didn’t happen seven years ago, and it’s not happening now. If these interventions and recommendations had been followed up, we wouldn’t have kids deciding to truant rather than feel they had the knowledge to manage menstruation themselves or the confidence to talk to parents or teachers.But that didn’t happen seven years ago, and it’s not happening now. If these interventions and recommendations had been followed up, we wouldn’t have kids deciding to truant rather than feel they had the knowledge to manage menstruation themselves or the confidence to talk to parents or teachers.
And as a “Lass war” protester, I need to be clear that this doesn’t just happen in the north of England. And it doesn’t just happen just in the global south. Please don’t come back to me in five years’ time with a news story about someone in the home counties skipping school because of periods. That’s certainly already happening.And as a “Lass war” protester, I need to be clear that this doesn’t just happen in the north of England. And it doesn’t just happen just in the global south. Please don’t come back to me in five years’ time with a news story about someone in the home counties skipping school because of periods. That’s certainly already happening.
If we can’t throw tampons at the problem for ever, what do we do instead? Now that it looks like sex and relationships education is finally going to be made compulsory, we actually have the opportunity to change things and make them stick.If we can’t throw tampons at the problem for ever, what do we do instead? Now that it looks like sex and relationships education is finally going to be made compulsory, we actually have the opportunity to change things and make them stick.
We need to stop leaving lesson plans to companies that are in any way linked to the menstrual product industry. There are market research and projection reports up to 2020 telling the industry that they need to solicit schools to gain young, brand-loyal customers, and that advice hasn’t changed in a century.We need to stop leaving lesson plans to companies that are in any way linked to the menstrual product industry. There are market research and projection reports up to 2020 telling the industry that they need to solicit schools to gain young, brand-loyal customers, and that advice hasn’t changed in a century.
Schools need to deal with this better themselves. They’re schools. What are they playing at? No other school subject relies on free samples or branded teaching resources. We need to keep brands away from national curriculum planning for menstruation education, and include experts.Schools need to deal with this better themselves. They’re schools. What are they playing at? No other school subject relies on free samples or branded teaching resources. We need to keep brands away from national curriculum planning for menstruation education, and include experts.
So, policymakers: don’t tell schools to give out free disposables without teaching about reusables in equal measure and legislate against branded resources.So, policymakers: don’t tell schools to give out free disposables without teaching about reusables in equal measure and legislate against branded resources.
Schools: provide different brands of disposable pads and tampons in the toilets – especially during exams. Ensure school toilets are unlocked and accessible all day long, not just at break times, and that they’re clean and have hot water, soap, dryers and bins. Teach about puberty before it starts, and don’t single out early menstruators. Remove all outer packaging and complain to any companies that send you branded resources, or better still use unbranded, factually accurate, menstruation education resources, and vet everything with an expert on menstruation for quality.Schools: provide different brands of disposable pads and tampons in the toilets – especially during exams. Ensure school toilets are unlocked and accessible all day long, not just at break times, and that they’re clean and have hot water, soap, dryers and bins. Teach about puberty before it starts, and don’t single out early menstruators. Remove all outer packaging and complain to any companies that send you branded resources, or better still use unbranded, factually accurate, menstruation education resources, and vet everything with an expert on menstruation for quality.
Companies: take your branding off your resources, and be prepared to show your working out – which experts vetted the content you’re providing? If you’ve got expertise, share it, but we’re on to you.Companies: take your branding off your resources, and be prepared to show your working out – which experts vetted the content you’re providing? If you’ve got expertise, share it, but we’re on to you.
And finally, since the girls from Leeds were confident enough to share their concerns, it’s most appropriate to direct some advice straight to them: if a company sells menstrual products, profit is always going to be their first priority, no matter how they dress it up, and the designs they use on the lesson plans or web content will look just like the product packaging. Don’t let yourself be bought and sold.And finally, since the girls from Leeds were confident enough to share their concerns, it’s most appropriate to direct some advice straight to them: if a company sells menstrual products, profit is always going to be their first priority, no matter how they dress it up, and the designs they use on the lesson plans or web content will look just like the product packaging. Don’t let yourself be bought and sold.
Don’t let teachers skip an important part of your education just because someone skipped it for them. Demand better, because you deserve better. Don’t be afraid to keep talking about it. And don’t accept a bunch of free tampons as the best solution for menstrual management – or austerity. There are more options out there, and you have a choice.Don’t let teachers skip an important part of your education just because someone skipped it for them. Demand better, because you deserve better. Don’t be afraid to keep talking about it. And don’t accept a bunch of free tampons as the best solution for menstrual management – or austerity. There are more options out there, and you have a choice.
Demand to know about reusable and menstrual products. You don’t have to spend all your money buying expensive disposables if you don’t want to or can’t. You can use menstrual cups or cloth pads too, or instead – they’re good for the environment and your wallet. Demand to know about reusable menstrual products. You don’t have to spend all your money buying expensive disposables if you don’t want to or can’t. You can use menstrual cups or cloth pads too, or instead – they’re good for the environment and your wallet.
Oh, and take it from someone who got teased for leaking on their period at a slumber party while trapped in a blizzard at the age of 13: leaks are not the worst thing in the world. Stick together. I’m proud and impressed that you’re talking about this. And everyone else? Buying tampons for people only lasts for a certain period. It doesn’t address the taboos or end poverty – it feeds right into the rampant capitalism and disposable culture that got us here in the first place.Oh, and take it from someone who got teased for leaking on their period at a slumber party while trapped in a blizzard at the age of 13: leaks are not the worst thing in the world. Stick together. I’m proud and impressed that you’re talking about this. And everyone else? Buying tampons for people only lasts for a certain period. It doesn’t address the taboos or end poverty – it feeds right into the rampant capitalism and disposable culture that got us here in the first place.