My period is not a luxury. Just ask anyone who menstruates, and they will tell you the same.
 
At best, our monthly cycle is an inconvenience –  an au natural reminder that today really wasn’t the day to wear those good knickers. At worst, our period can serve as a devastating and painful reminder that our body maybe isn’t working the way it should be.
 
My name is Katy Johnston, I’m 23-years-old and following surgery in April of 2018 I was officially diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis: a gynaecological condition that affects 1 in 10 women in Scotland and makes my period the worst time of the month.
 
Endometriosis is the second most common gynaecological condition in the UK – it occurs when cells that replicate those lining the uterus grow elsewhere in the body – fusing themselves to organs and creating sticky cysts and painful clots. Each month, these cells break down and bleed out, but, unlike a normal period, the blood has nowhere to go. Instead, it stays inside, snowballing, and brings with it extreme cramps, nausea, pain during sex, heavy menstrual bleeding and potential infertility.
 
So yeah, my period is more than a monthly inconvenience. It’s a lingering headache, a persistent nightmare. It’s constant and unrelenting and it went undiagnosed for years, because, after all, ‘it’s just a period’.
 
For me, and I’d hazard, most the 190 million individuals with endometriosis across the universe, access to sanitary products is no luxury, but a daily essential.
 
And, as MSP and shadow cabinet secretary for health and sport, Monica Lennon put it: “No one should face the indignity of being unable to access these essential products to manage their period.”
 
I’ve gotten pretty used to carting around a small medical cabinet worth of painkillers, heat packs, tens machines, and sanitary items with me, always. Frankly, these are the essential items I rely on to get through the day. Anyone who might call them ‘luxury’ or ‘non-essential’, clearly doesn’t have a gynaecological condition like endometriosis.
 
This condition isn’t cheap, according to leading charity Endometriosis UK, endometriosis costs the UK economy £8.2bn a year in treatment, loss of work and healthcare costs.
 
Recently, lugging about my stash of medical supplies, I’ve become increasingly aware of my relative privilege.
 
My period is costly.  My bleeding is daily (although I’m also menopausal thanks to endo – long story) and I’m constantly forking out for the latest pain relief gadgets, essential oils, ointments, over the counter remedies in search of a cure (There is no cure by the way).
 
I’m a student. I work part-time. I depend on freelance work and my loan to fund both my life, pay the bills and contribute towards the management of my condition. I am not well off but, the difference is, I can afford to bleed through my knickers when a lot of people can’t.
 
According to the homelessness charity Shelter, in 2018 34,972 homeless applications were made in Scotland. If half of those people are women and one in ten of those women have endometriosis, we’ve got a problem and it’s not going anywhere.
 
I am so grateful to the NHS: for my weekly prescription, which, no doubt, I could not afford without it. For the treatment I have received from MRI’s to ultrasounds in the early stages through to surgery, which I will need again and for my many regular GP appointments and consultations.
 
But we’ve got a long way to go. I was delighted when I saw the issue of free sanitary provisions in hospitals flash up on Sky news last week. How is it that my student library freely stockpiles tampons in their loos, but countless NHS hospital would think twice before supplying period provisions? Even on the gynaecology ward, after my first operation, I was forced to borrow sanitary items from a fellow patient as I had soaked through my pyjamas and the ward sisters had nothing to offer me but paper knickers.
 
Endometriosis isn’t cheap, but we didn’t ask for it. This health condition shouldn’t be forced into the shadows because it’s about periods and that makes us uncomfortable. Regardless of whether it’s endo, PCOS, menorrhagia or just a regular period, no one should feel caught short in public spaces.
 
Schools, public bathrooms, libraries, galleries, football stadiums, concert venues, shopping centres, hospitals should all cater for people who bleed.
 
Because there’s a lot of us, and silencing us doesn’t stop us bleeding, it just creates a culture where women grow up ashamed of what is natural and embarrassed about something over which they have no control. 

I didn’t really think about period poverty until colleagues who volunteered at a Dundee foodbank told me about young women and girls who were asking about sanitary products and telling their stories about the impact on their lives of not being able to afford them.

Some were unable to go to school, some were subjected to bullying, all were unhappy and all embarrassed or ashamed.  It’s hard enough being a teenager without having to go through that. When I was that age, I had very heavy and long periods. I can still remember worrying about leakages, and being caught out when it started unexpectedly.  Running the gauntlet of the school bus with stained clothes was hideous, and that’s without social media to spread the teasing. But I knew that I wouldn’t have to go without sanitary protection for longer than it took to reach a public toilet or get home. Those girls my colleagues met in Dundee didn’t have that comfort.

So we started collecting sanitary products in the staff break out area to donate to the foodbank. I thought people might find it too embarrassing, or the novelty would wear off or might even complain. But they didn’t – they collected so much we had to have two boxes on the go at a time. And it wasn’t just the women, the men bought them too.

What still surprises me is that people were so reluctant to speak about it. Women swap stories about birth, about all sorts of ailments, about their sex lives, but periods have remained strangely taboo particularly in mixed company.

That’s why I’m so pleased that women like Monica Lennon have spoken out tirelessly and the government and wider society have responded positively. There is a strong message about visible, free sanitary towels and tampons which says it’s normal and here’s what you need as well as the most important aspect – making sure all women and girls have the protection they need.

You could argue that providing free products in offices and public spaces is simply subsidising people who can already afford them. However, I think universal availability is part of destigmatising. All women go through this and it’s important for young girls in particular to feel “normal”.

No one should ever feel ashamed of such a natural human function, nor should they be bullied, teased or excluded because of it. Sanitary protection is a basic human right and I am very pleased to be supporting this campaign.

It is no secret that the debate around period poverty is more prominent than ever before. I have admired the work done by Labour’s Monica Lennon MSP on tackling period poverty from afar, and it’s been great to see college’s, universities and other public spaces providing sanitary items for free. A pilot scheme has been introduced in my university for sanitary product provision and I was chuffed to bits when I seen it. “We’re making progress – yass!”
 
But the fight is not over! I am a season ticket holder for Celtic Football Club, and with my universities moves towards accessible sanitary products in mind, it got me thinking about why a similar scheme couldn’t be introduced in football grounds – or any sporting venues for that matter! However, focusing on football, its no secret that it has historically been a male-dominated sport. Whilst the number of women attending football fixtures has most definitely increased, we’re still the in the minority. It is important that we are visible and our needs are recognised. I shared a poll on Twitter asking about people’s experiences with accessibility to sanitary products at football grounds and a common answer was that they “couldn’t remember” if there was a sanitary items dispenser in the toilets that they used. This isn’t good enough. Women should leave sporting events knowing that their needs were well catered for, and I think this is something that access to free sanitary items would provide. The principle of being recognised and paid attention to  is important – in addition to removing the financial obstacles to buying sanitary items.
 
It cannot be ignored that at the heart of this move is the knowledge that, as the price of sanitary products increase, not all self-identifying women and girls can afford them. It would be ignorant to assume that everyone can afford a sanitary towel or a tampon, especially when you’re using multiple a day for generally up to a week. We can’t have people compromising their health and hygiene by going without sanitary items because they can’t afford them whilst others can. So, yes, of course this is about making sure the products are easily accessible for everyone, but it’s not the sole aim of our campaign. A few other female season ticket holders and myself have put this campaign in place to promote women’s presence at the football, to make our needs visible and our voices heard. We also know in practice that sanitary hygiene in football grounds is harder than it may seem. We have heard from girls who said there was not a sanitary items dispenser in the toilet closest to them, or that there’s no access to sanitary bins. We hope that through this campaign and opening communications with the Club that we may be able to introduce a system where sanitary items are free to access and the comfort of the matchday experience can be optimised for female support.
 
This problem is not just specific to Celtic, to football, or to sport. It’s nation-wide and its roots can be found in the unequal gender balance upon which our society is built. Social attitudes mean that we are encouraged not to speak about menstruation or sanitary items, hence why little progress has been made in sanitary provision for women and girls. We believe that these products are just as necessary as toilet roll, which we don’t have to pay for. We want to break the stigma of talking about women’s reproductive health in public and we hope that through our campaign we will no longer see women and girls struggling to access sanitary products - we want a more comfortable match day experience for all who menstruate. 

The EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union[1], has a long-standing interest in highlighting the damaging impact of low-income poverty on education. Last year we held special screenings of Kev Loach’s powerful film ’I, Daniel Blake’, to help our members become more aware of the changes to the social security system which are driving many into poverty and despair.
​
One scene which profoundly moved our members showed Katie, a struggling single mum, experiencing deep shame after being caught shoplifting sanitary products. Those working in food banks are increasingly encountering women and girls who are suffering the indignity of being unable to afford to buy sanitary products when experiencing their period. The Project Manager of one food bank in Nottingham says, “It’s quite something when you give somebody a box of tampons and they break down in tears” [2]. A spokesperson for the leading food bank network in Scotland, interviewed in July 2017, said, “We've taken evidence across the country of women who supplement that [period products] by the use of socks, they would use toilet paper and in some of the worst circumstances…by the use of newspaper."[3]

Women and girls deserve so much better than this. That’s why the EIS strongly supports Monica Lennon’s proposal to bring forward a Bill to end period poverty and oblige schools, colleges and universities to distribute items as needed, free of charge.

We believe that free and easy access to period products is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of women and girls. We know that health and wellbeing (one of the three pillars of the Curriculum for Excellence) impact on educational outcomes. We also believe that universal free provision of period products will enhance learners’ attendance and attainment.

It is common sense to suggest that girls are more likely to attend school/college, and be able to focus on their learning, if they know they can manage their period without stress or shame. However, this is also an evidence-based position. Research commissioned by ActionAid in 2016 found that more than 3.5 million girls and women in the UK had missed school or work because of their period.[4]

A universal provision scheme as proposed by Ms. Lennon would also help to mitigate the impact of poverty on education, and should form part of the overall approach to ensuring ‘equity’ in educational provision, a stated Scottish Government priority.

Furthermore, it would promote equality - in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty. And, crucially, it would contribute to tackling the stigma associated with periods. Periods are not a medical emergency or a secret shame – they are a normal and natural part of life for women and girls. They deserve to be part of public policy in the same way as any other health issue.

In the EIS, we know only too well that the current climate of austerity, with one in five children in Scotland living in poverty[5], is damaging to our learners. We know children and young people are coming to school hungry and cold. We know families are choosing between eating and heating. We know that women and girls are stressed and distressed if they have no money to buy period products and are too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for an emergency supply. It is disgraceful that, in this day and age, many women and girls struggle to access basic sanitary products, which can have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing. This is a matter of basic human dignity, to which we should all be entitled, regardless of income. It’s time to end period poverty for good.


[1] http://www.eis.org.uk/
 

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/12/period-poverty-call-to-tackle-the-hidden-side-of-inequality
 

[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40566524
 

[4] https://www.actionaid.org.uk/about-us/periods-and-menstrual-hygiene

[5] http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/11/9758
 

​It is a man’s world, even in 21st century Scotland, with male decision makers making up 70% of the Civil Service, it’s vital that we highlight the horrifying indignity and inequalities, that women who are faced with homelessness live with, to everyone who can make a difference. Makeshift sanitary products, such as socks and cobbled together tampons, are their reality on a regular basis.  In fact, 60% of a sample group of women we support have no clean underwear before, during or after their period. 
 
At Simon Community Scotland, we engage, listen and respond to the most vulnerable.  Our Street Team, who work on the frontline, providing vital support to those sleeping rough, hear these horrifying and needless insights on a daily basis. As a result we have been responding in a discrete way to meet the needs of women for some years now.
 
We realised our discretion doesn’t challenge the issue nearly enough and so in August this year we launched our ‘Period Friendly Campaign’ to both meet the practical needs of the most marginalised women in our society. We also want to highlight the issue more and galvanise support of the entire country to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, and the women we represent, to end this needless indignity.
 
Meeting people where they are at and building relationships is the secret to our longstanding success as Scotland’s largest homelessness provider.  We listened and responded to the needs of the women we support and created ‘Period Friendly Packs’. Going beyond just the products themselves and also supplying: sanitary towels, tampons, wipes, pants, and even a bar of chocolate.
 
Our role in creating the campaign is to establish a platform to invite the support of many stakeholder groups: the general public, whom we affectionately call ‘Period Friendly Pals’ who volunteer with us to establish ‘Period Friendly Points’ - public toilet facilities where we can set up stations of these products for easy access to those who need them.  Then there are those who donate supplies of products, organisations such as Glasgow University, through their ‘ Red Alert Appeal’ and many others who have linked arms with us to positively impact lives. We also want to look wider to identify key influencers who share our vision, such as MSP Monica Lennon, and the incredible work she is doing nationally to highlight the plight of all women’s period poverty.
 
The overriding message is that solving this issue takes courage and requires the collective hearts and minds of people right across Scotland who continue to challenge the inequality of opportunity as they go about their daily lives.  This is a battle that we can win by working together.
 
 
 

As soon as you bring up the issue of eradication period poverty or the free provision of sanitary products, it naturally creates a debate: but the comment I have heard most in response to this issue is “well men get free condoms” - but what does that actually mean and how does it fit into the context of this debate and subsequent idea of universal access to free sanitary products?
 
Well to begin with, the statement is true: you can access condoms for free. That’s the purpose of the c-card - anyone can pick up one of these cards up and take it along to any of the registered dispensary points. Not only that but you get to pick from 11 different types with the scheme boasting that on your first time using the C-card you will receive a variety and so you know to find out what best suits you. 

Monica Lennon MSP’s consultation on how we actually implement universal access to free sanitary products has taken inspiration from the C-card scheme. Just like the c-card, this would be available to all who want it. When taken to the relevant dispensing point, there would be a choice of what sanitary products you would prefer.
 
And this is where the crucial part comes in and why only by implementing universal free access to sanitary products will we be doing ALL we can to eliminate period poverty from our society - creating that equality that is truly available to all.
 
There are families now across Scotland with 2, 3 or maybe even more daughters who are struggling to cover the cost of sanitary products. If means tested, they would not get access to whatever benefit would entitle them to free sanitary provisions and this is just one example why this would not be the benefit of Scotland and the campaign to eradicate period poverty.

​We see people across our country turning to food banks for sanitary products and we of course have a duty to them to do all we can to ensure that in the future no person is forced to go to a food bank at all.  But we also have a duty to those currently on the brink, struggling by, just making it - but not at that stage YET of having to access a food bank.
 
With rising living costs we see everyday that more and more people are struggling to make ends meet. We can take a stand and do something now to do what is best for Scotland in tackling the growing problem of period poverty. Make free access to sanitary products universal because it’s the right thing to do.

​I am a 60 year old man and men of my vintage don’t, or at least until very recently didn’t, talk about periods.
 
Of course because men have always held disproportionate sway over what could and should be discussed, and therefore in determining what is and isn’t important, there have been no speeches on menstruation.
 
For this, and countless other gender-based failings, men should, and this one does, apologise.
 
It’s self-evident that I cannot know the lived experience of one of nature’s essential features. However, the same can be said of many other things, once shunned in public discourse, but now everyday parlance.
 
Our communities have been blighted by austerity, that conscious, pernicious decision taken by far-away, and out of touch, politicians. In my constituency work I’ve been confronted by the brutal consequences of poverty and, until recently, that was poverty which had implications for housing, energy and well-being. Thus far at least, no-one has come to me and mentioned ‘period poverty’. Perhaps why would they speak about it to a middle-aged man?
 
Raising awareness of an issue is fundamental to seeking policy change. I regret I am late to this matter and thank Monica and others for highlighting it. I’m troubled to think of the additional anguish that has, and continues to be caused by period poverty and it must end.
 
I wish Monica well in her efforts to right a wrong and improve things for women and girls and I hope that all ‘men of my vintage’ give her their support