Staff Training at CoLab
- By Rebecca Batala
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- 30 Jan, 2019
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Now you'll know what I did in December
First, I’m taking the time out in this blog to informally introduce myself. I’m Rebecca, and I’ve just been given the position of Tackling Period Poverty Coordinator with No More Taboo. Period Poverty, was at one point, a reality for me. Not being able to afford sanitary products, having to roll up a wad of tissue and pray I didn’t leak was a part of growing up but I don’t want that to be a part of another menstruators’ experience. So naturally, I was drawn to No More Taboo’s work, I wanted to be a part of something that was actively working towards removing the stigma surrounding menstruation. This is why I was so excited for the Staff Training, not only did I get a chance to get hands on with what kind of work the organisation does but I also got the chance to be in a room with organisations who cared about tackling a wide scale, yet simultaneously intimate issue.
Come 13th December, gale force
winds were tearing through the South West which of course meant I was delayed
getting into Exeter. I tried not to let it bother me, plus if I let all of the
bad weather in the South West bother me I’d be in a consistently terrible mood.
When I got to CoLab (eventually) I was met with a welcoming space, where we
started uncovering some very interesting things.
Deborah, from one of the
organisations in the room, had a daughter who has creating art out of menstrual
blood. How. Amazing. What was more amazing is that, these conversations are
happening, we at No More Taboo are simply amplifying them! CoLab was
essentially a series of powerful conversations. There we were discussing a
subject that has been for so long discouraged, going through what an
organisation was and wasn’t doing to tackle period poverty was enlightening for
all of us in the room. Simple questions that enabled us to think about things
that can be very easy to look over. Was or wasn’t there a bathroom mirror where
people could check if they had or hadn’t leaked...? Was or wasn’t there a
designated member of staff to speak to if a person needed sanitary products?
It’s all well and good to have a few tampons and pads locked away somewhere
upstairs, but why are they out of view/out of sight? Why are they not being
bought to the forefront? We worked on these issues alongside some of the
barriers an organisation might have in order to open up these dialogues. How
might we send tampons into prisons, when tampons are also used to smuggle in
drugs? It’s not as simple as just tackling period poverty, but it’s about
slowly breaking down the barriers that make this difficult also, but it all
starts with that conversation. It’s refreshing to be a part of an organisation
that is a safe space for discussing the subject of period poverty. That’s why I
left feeling so comforted by the Staff Training. We stood together in a circle
and drew up actions that we would take with us into the future, whether that be
to try reusable products or to rethink strategy, we all came away with
something that we learnt that day that we could put into practice for another
day.
WOW Women of the World festivals have been popping up across the world, if you get the chance to go along to one we would strongly recommend it.
WOW – Women of the World festival celebrates women and girls, and looks at the obstacles that stop them from achieving their potential.
Around the world, individuals and communities are insisting on the simple proposition that women and girls must have equal rights and asking the question: why is gender equality taking so long?
Southbank Centre's WOW – Women of the World festival is a global network of festivals which provides a platform for celebrating what has been achieved, and exploring all the ways we can change the world for the better.
What’s not to love?
Our Founder, Chloe, and her Mum Angela went along to represent No More Taboo with a stall across the two days. Here’s her highlights:
“Although we didn’t get much time to take in all the discussions as we were kept busy wo-manning the stall (thanks Mum for helping out)! We had some great discussions around gender, equality, inclusivity and of course periods with new customers, supporters, other panellists and some old friends who came to see us.
In fact, we were really pleased to catch up with Plan International UK who were opening the festival with a discussion about Period Activism exactly one year on since the launch of our #BreaktheBarriers research and Period Poverty Conference that we ran in collaboration with Plan.
On the first weekend of September, No More Taboo set up shop at Lush Cribbs Causeway for their Charity Pot weekend.
The Lush Charity Pot is a wonderfully creamy shea-butter hand lotion where all the sales money (excluding VAT) goes towards a chosen charity or non-for-profit. This scheme is designed to help boost grass-roots, small and local organisations, like ourselves, financially so that we can continue to do the work we do such as our Tackling Period Poverty programme.
As we were Lush’s chosen organisation for the weekend of the 1-2 September, one of our volunteers, Iloni, and one of our advisors, Carolyn, went along to wo-man the (suitably Lush-styled aesthetic) stall that Lush had kindly provided for us. We took along a range of our products, stacks of leaflets and information as well as our enthusiasm for talking about all things to do with periods.
Over the weekend, we sold over £200’s worth of stock with Ruby Cups and Honour Your Flow re-usable pads proving most popular with Lush customers. On top of this, Lush sold so many of their Charity Pots that £340.60 was raised for No More Taboo – which was amazing!
However exciting the money side of things were with this event, what I personally took away as being the real highlight of the weekend was the number and nature of conversations we shared with customers.
Mothers and daughters came and chatted to us about how they agreed it was so important to use re-usable products for personal and financial reasons as well as for the planet’s sake. Boyfriends accompanied their other halves as they prodded and probed the range of menstrual cups on display. Older women commented on how it’s such a relief to be able to talk about menstruation in public and with people you’ve only just met. They regaled of a time when periods were even more hush-hush and celebrated with us out mission of there being No More Taboo.
We would like to thank Lush Cribbs Causeway for being such wonderful hosts, encouraging every customer that came through their doors to consider buying the Charity Pot or simply to chat with us. Each member of their staff team was incredibly warm and so keen to find out more about what we do. On behalf of all of us at No More Taboo, thank you.
For more information, take a look at their website: https://www1.uwe.ac.uk/whatson/biggreenweek.aspx
Read more here: https://www.wen.org.uk/environmenstrual-week-of-action/
