Let's End Period Poverty
  • Home
  • About
  • FAQs
  • In the Media
  • Journey of the Bill
  • Get Involved
  • Blog
  • What Others Say
  • Consultation Responses
  • Organisational Responses
  • Individual Responses
  • Home
  • About
  • FAQs
  • In the Media
  • Journey of the Bill
  • Get Involved
  • Blog
  • What Others Say
  • Consultation Responses
  • Organisational Responses
  • Individual Responses

blog 

Ending indignity, promoting equality: Why Scotland’s largest teaching union backs the campaign to end period poverty.                      Blog post by Nicola Fisher, EIS President

3/6/2018

18 Comments

 
Picture
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
 

18 Comments
WPBakery Nulled link
9/5/2022 08:52:34 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://freecodezilla.net/wpbakery-page-builder-for-wordpress/

Reply
site kurma link
9/11/2022 03:58:49 pm

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://kurma.website/

Reply
mobil ödeme bozdurma link
9/12/2022 04:09:53 am

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://odemebozdurma.com/

Reply
website kurma link
9/14/2022 02:12:54 pm

Really informative article, I had the opportunity to learn a lot, thank you. https://bit.ly/site-kurma

Reply
site kurma link
9/30/2022 04:28:16 am

It's great to have this type of content. Good luck with your spirit. Thank you. https://bit.ly/site-kurma

Reply
ilkadim escort link
10/5/2022 03:35:53 pm

I follow your posts closely. I can find it thanks to your reliable share. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/samsun-escort/ilkadim-escort/

Reply
kiziltepe escort link
10/6/2022 03:15:13 pm

I support your continuation of your posts. I will be happy as new posts come. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/mardin-escort/kiziltepe-escort/

Reply
yomra escort link
10/7/2022 01:05:29 am

I think the content is at a successful level. It adds enough information. Thank you. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/trabzon-escort/yomra-escort/

Reply
sinop escort link
10/8/2022 07:32:42 am

Thoughtful and real content is shared. Thank you for these shares. https://escortnova.com/escort-ilanlari/sinop-escort/

Reply
betinfo link
11/22/2022 05:30:20 pm

It was a successful post.These types of posts are very helpful.

Reply
mrbahis link
12/6/2022 12:40:12 pm

Congratulations for the successful article. I can't wait for the sequel.

Reply
mrbahis link
12/8/2022 09:26:45 am

This is nice work. Seeing good works on good days gives one peace of mind.

Reply
vbet link
12/9/2022 09:16:54 am

Congratulations, it's a nice post. I'm always waiting for such nice posts in the future.

Reply
sportsbet link
12/10/2022 06:22:10 am

I follow your work closely. Congratulations for this beautiful content.

Reply
betmatik link
12/19/2022 02:37:31 am

Betmatik giriş adresine ulaşmak için tıkla.

Reply
betpark link
12/20/2022 09:17:33 pm

Betpark giriş adresi burada.

Reply
100 tl bonus veren siteler link
1/8/2023 10:46:47 pm

100 tl deneme bonusu veren siteleri öğrenmek istiyorsan tıkla.

Reply
Dennis link
5/17/2023 07:36:50 pm

Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2020
    February 2020
    February 2019
    November 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly