A pattern of truancy has been found amongst girls from low-income families at a school in Leeds: their absence from school is a consequence of the alarming fact that they simply cannot afford sanitary protection during their time of menstruation. Rather than face the discomfort and potential humiliation of using wads of tissues or socks as makeshift sanitary protection, girls have been missing school altogether.
This discovery has rightly raised much concern amongst schools, campaigns and charities about the unaffordable cost of feminine hygiene products for some families. Some families have to rely solely on donations to buy the products, while some girls are forced to ration their sanitary protection and change it less frequently (which is both unhygienic and a clear health risk.)
During a time when public and political discussion surrounding the tampon tax (5% VAT) is particularly rife, it is shockingly poignant that there are girls who are missing out on weeks of their education because their families simply cannot afford sanitary products. Furthermore, the taboo that still surrounds menstruation makes having a discussion about it, or asking for financial help or the provision of sanitary products, much more difficult.
(Photo Credit: www.independent.co.uk) Sanitary protection is a necessity, NOT a luxury.
The fact that this is a strictly feminine issue cannot be ignored: girls are being forced to choose between their education and their own comfort because they cannot cater to the needs of their body. Note the use of ‘needs’ – sanitary products are a necessity, NOT a luxury. A luxury, would be (for example) having a nice hair accessory or expensive bag to wear to school, and they are precisely a luxury, in this education context, because their presence does not inhibit or enhance a pupil’s education. Surely, then, it cannot be ignored that placing a higher tax on feminine hygiene products, which are an absolute necessity, is most definitely restricting the freedom of young women and having a direct influence on their education and their health.
The average age that a girl can begin her period is 12, but it can start at any time from the age of 8. If a girl has not been exposed to the world of puberty through sex education, or if they do not have a close relationship with their parents to be able to discuss the changes to their body, starting their period can be an even scarier and more isolating experience. The least that they should be provided with, then, is the provision of free sanitary products in schools, so that they do not have to choose between their comfort and their education. Teachers have reported buying sanitary products for their poorer pupils, but this responsibility should not fall to the individual teacher, it should be a collective effort by the government and school.
Positive change is on the horizon: a bill is to be passed through the Scottish parliament to make the provision of pads and tampons in schools a requirement. A petition for the UK government to do the same has been started, and can be found here.