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OUR NEW CAMPAIGN IS
COMING SOON.

Paying for a Period:
a bloody timeline.




2019: the UK government establishes a Taskforce and promises £250,000
to tackle period poverty.

2020: Taskforce abandoned due to the Covid pandemic. 
2020 onwards: Rising levels of poverty in general, and period poverty specifically,
due to the pandemic plus cost of living crisis.  

May 2022: BGP asked the government where the £250K is and what the next steps are. 
Summer 2022: The government response says next steps will be announced 'in due course'. 

2023: Rising levels of need. 
Household budgets are under pressure in all directions.
40% of those on Universal Credit are in work.
Food bank referrals are up.
People have to make choices between life’s essentials - including period products.

Still waiting on those next steps. 

 

Period groundhog day.... the same (insufficient) answer we received repeatedly in 2022

What about the action that has been taken? 
The government response so far has focused on: provision of period products in schools and hospitals, and the tampon tax abolition. These are great steps in theory - and we want more of those! However these steps are neither sufficient in practice, nor tackle the issue for many other groups of people. 
  • The schools' provision program has not met the needs of all young people. Only 50% of eligible secondary schools and organisations took part in 2021. A recent Girlguiding study found that 32% of pupils are not receiving free period products through this scheme. We're contacted by many schools who are unaware of it, and others who receive insufficient funding for the actual needs.
     
  • The abolition of the Tampon Tax has had no real impact. Most savings were kept by retailers rather than passed on to consumers - plus any improvement in affordability has been wiped out by inflation. 
     
  • The provision of period products by NHS England to patients has been negligible. With growing waiting lists many people, particularly those with gynaecological conditions, are unable to gain access to essential healthcare. 

Many other groups also need to access period products, and they have been ignored by the steps taken so far. Refugees, asylum seekers, those relying on food banks and community support groups, and others living in financial hardship are increasingly unable to access these essential items. Meanwhile, small charities like Bloody Good Period are filling the gap and distributing record numbers of products to people who need them. 
 

OUR NEW CAMPAIGN IS
COMING SOON.

READ OUR LETTER 
In 2022 we got together with loads of great activists, charities, organisations and supporters to ask the UK Government to recommit to ending period poverty. Put your name to our letter, and make our voices louder!

STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE CAMPAIGN 
Get the latest news and updates from the campaign by signing up to get our ace emails and following us on social media. 
DONATE

We'll continue to provide essential menstrual items to those who need them! So if you can, please think about donating to support us to do so.

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