Tackling Period Poverty: an update!
- By Chloe Tingle
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- 02 Jun, 2017
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What have we been up to in the last few months? Shai gives us an update on our work to tackle period poverty
We’ve been working really hard to understand how we can make a positive, long-lasting change to vulnerable people that menstruate, through engaging with community groups, talking to individuals, and putting the people that we’re trying to help at the heart of our project planning and development. In the process, we’ve met amazing people along the way – individuals with inspiring stories, and people who are working really hard to improve the lives of those in the local community, making Bristol a more inclusive, friendly and liveable city for those who struggle the most.
May was a really important month for our Tackling Period Poverty project. We have been developing sustainable lasting methods to tackle period poverty and change attitudes about periods, as well as ensuring these ways are delivered in a manner that is effective and useful for the people we work with. A few weeks ago, we delivered our first workshop with the women who attend Bristol Drugs Project’s women’s morning! This marked the start of our work with vulnerable groups to tackle period poverty.
We were really happy with our first workshop – but hey, don’t hear it just from us! Here’s what Becky, women’s morning’s lead Engagement Worker, had to say:
“The workshop went really well! It’s quite a controversial topic, and to start off with, both clients and staff were a little bit sceptical about how it was going to go – it’s a bit of a difficult topic after all! However, the workshop did everything it said on the tin, and more. It was a really appropriate workshop for a women’s group. It helped break down the taboo around speaking about periods, and it really brought us all together.
In the weeks following the workshop, women attending the group have been a lot more open to talking about their health and periods, and they had been thinking a lot about the social issues surrounding periods, such as issues of affordability and sustainability, and how they can make a change in their lives. Our clients have come back asking questions, exploring different options available to them and really interested in swopping to a reusable sanitary product to save them money.
The activities that were in the workshop were really interesting and different – they were eye-opening, educational and practical. They helped us to think about women’s health more broadly, and made everyone really relaxed about opening up and speaking within the group setting.
The workshop had benefits beyond that of informing clients about periods – it really helped me in my role with working with vulnerable women. It taught me a lot about the issues surrounding period poverty and now I feel a lot more confident talking to women about their menstrual health. Not only has it been an informative session, but we feel closer as a group, making women feel more comfortable to engage in future sessions”.
What’s next for our work with Bristol Drugs Project? We’re going to be returning to the women’s morning and running a Period Clinic – one to one sessions with women who are wanting to switch to reusable products, talking them through the options and answering any questions or concerns that they have. We have got funding from Lush Charity Pot and the People’s Postcode Trust to run these workshops and supply women with reusable sanitary products – providing them with a sustainable solution to period poverty, without having to worry each month about buying tampons, relying on food banks, or going completely without.
So what's next? Our work is going to continue into the summer, with collaborations with Crisis Centre Ministries, Refugee Women of Bristol, Avonmouth Community Centre, and the Homeless Period Gloucestershire, and many more in the making! We’re not only excited to continue with our workshops, but also increase our reach beyond the city of Bristol into surrounding areas.
If you’d like to donate to the project, we’ve just launched a Crowdfunder for our new product, all the profits of which will go straight into funding Tackling Period Poverty! Check it out here, and the video below!
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/
