• LET’S talk about period poverty. Across the UK one in 10 girls are experiencing it. That means that every month one in 10 girls have to go without necessary menstrual products when they have their period.

In Islington, 70 per cent of secondary schoolchildren come from an economically disadvantaged background. Islington Council has launched a scheme called Tricky Period. The premise is that all women and girls have the opportunity to go to Islington Central Library and receive menstrual products completely free of charge.

Obviously, on paper this is incredible, so we wanted to test out how it works in reality. On approaching the counter, with a queue behind us, we were greeted by two very kind men who were more than happy to help us with whatever we needed.

We were asked to fill out a form for the products we wanted and then waited while one of the men went to grab what we had requested. He then proceeded to hand these over the counter to us (we, of course, didn’t take the products in the end). Sounds great, so what’s the issue? The issue is that we don’t talk about periods.

There is an undeniable stigma surrounding periods that pushes girls into silence. It is this stigma that has let the issue of period poverty go unaddressed for so long and it is this stigma that will stop girls who are in desperate need from going to Islington Central Library and requesting free menstrual products.

The current scheme in Islington is a start. It isn’t a bad idea in theory, but it expects young vulnerable girls to suddenly break free of the shame that society has placed on them and their periods. This just isn’t realistic.

This is the reason why the Women’s Equality Party has been asking the council to deploy the scheme directly to our schools, where teenagers would be able to access the free menstrual products in a comfortable and familiar environment.

We were delighted during the council leader’s Question Time on Monday evening when Councillor Richard Watts acknowledged our arguments and promised to review this initiative.

This is 100 per cent a step in the right direction. We are keen to work with the council on this topic so that we can best support our vulnerable children and put an end to period poverty in Islington.

GEORGIA YALE, GUILENE MARCO, SARAH STRANG, JENNY MASHFORD
Women’s Equality Party, Islington