https://www.freeperiods.org/home daily 1.0 2020-10-31 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f87562fe51447527c6fc27e/1602704962844/FreePeriods-01-04+copy.png Home - Who are we? Free Periods is a not-for-profit campaign group started by Amika George. We want to live in a world where no young person has to miss school because they menstruate. Our mission at Free Periods is to make that a reality. It’s simple. No one should miss out on an education because they don’t have access to pads or tampons. But period poverty is widespread across the globe, and we need Governments and policy makers to take action to ensure that all children can go to school and learn. This is about equality. Equal access to education and opportunities for all. At Free Periods, we have helped to make this a reality in England. In 2019, the Government committed to funding period products in every single state school and college in England. The scheme began in 2020, but we have more work to do to end period poverty for good. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f87561fc134024afdf3dbdc/1602704931858/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%282%2Bof%2B46%29+copy.jpeg Home - Free Periods at your school or college EVERY state school and college in England is able to order period products for their students, funded by the UK Government. So how come only 40% of colleges, primary and secondary schools have signed up to the scheme since its launch in January? Use this template letter to get in touch with your local school or college, and let them know about the scheme. Post these graphics on social media, to spread the word about the scheme. Guidance on the scheme and how to place orders is available here. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f8590f29ef96248f7835ef5/1602588917039/PR_Linkedin_Header.jpg Home https://www.freeperiods.org/mission daily 0.75 2020-10-14 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85c3fef9c687164a514cdb/1602602018089/FREEPERIODS_INCIDENTALS_011.jpg MISSION - MISSION Free Periods is a not for profit organisation fighting to ensure that no young person has to miss out on their education because they menstruate. Since we started Free Periods in April 2017, we have fought determinedly for change, ultimately launching a joint legal campaign with the Red Box Project in early 2019. Together we urged the Government to comply with its legal obligations to ensure equal access to education for all children, irrespective of their sex. Just two months after the launch of legal action, the Government committed funding for free period products in schools in England, mirroring similar commitments already made by the Governments in Scotland and Wales The Department for Education’s scheme launched in January 2020. We’re thrilled to have played our part in this policy change, but our work is not yet done! We are also working to destigmatise menstruate and change the narrative, so we're no longer ashamed and embarrassed of our periods – nor our bodies. The stigmatised nature of the menstrual cycle and the marginalisation of our biological underpinnings means that our needs have been side-lined in schools, at work, in public spaces, and fundamentally, at the policy making table. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85c461d08de43fb64527d0/1602602100240/FreePeriods-01-02.png MISSION - What’s the Period Revolution? We are scrutinising and evaluating the Government scheme, striving to ensure that it is fully funded and works for everyone. We are campaigning to ensure that all eligible schools opt into the scheme so that all students have equal access to education. We will not stop until period poverty is eradicated. We are working alongside local activists in other jurisdictions to secure similar policy commitments from their Governments. Every young person should have access to the period products they need to get on with their education, and their lives. And we keep working to tackle menstrual stigma. We want to encourage people to talk freely about menstruation, embrace the power of the period, and invite boys, men, and anyone who doesn't experience menstruation to get involved in that conversation as well. We are determined to tackle period poverty, and break the period taboo. It’s so important that the issue of menstrual equity is prioritised by decision-makers, and at Free Periods, we aim to inform, empower, educate, organise and agitate. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f805238e790d477f14f1e1e/1602588914525/PR_Linkedin_Header.jpg MISSION https://www.freeperiods.org/periodpoverty daily 0.75 2021-01-08 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f80510141aae816c26fa4e3/1602525382802/Fact_Post2.jpg WHAT IS PERIOD POVERTY? - Who is affected? Any girl, woman, trans man and non-binary person who menstruates can be affected by period poverty. And period poverty is a facet of financial poverty. We cannot escape from its gendered nature. Women are disproportionately more likely to experience poverty because of entrenched and endemic structural inequality. For example, a study by NEU revealed that more than one fifth of women (22%) have a persistently low income compared to approximately 14% of men. Women face additional poverty risks as a result of lower earning power, caring responsibilities and the changing family structure. When women face a daily struggle to afford their most basic needs, they are not able to build up financial savings nor assets to fall back on in times of hardship. Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) are even further disadvantaged due to structural racism, with women in these groups experiencing considerably higher rates of poverty than white women in the UK. This is owing to a myriad of factors, such as lower pay, higher raters of unemployment and economic inactivity, likelihood of being a single parent, or having a large family. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f8050d28b27990fd9d22072/1602525382798/Fact_Post1.jpg WHAT IS PERIOD POVERTY? - WHAT IS PERIOD POVERTY? Period poverty is a global social injustice affecting people who cannot access period products, whether for financial reasons or otherwise. On any one day, over 800m people across the globe are on their period. Of these, 500m lack access to adequate resources to care for their period and manage their menstruation with informed choice. In 2017, a survey by Plan International UK reported that 1 in 10 girls had been unable to afford period products; 1 in 7 had to ask to borrow products from a friend due to affordability issues; and 1 in 10 had to improvise. Research has found that some use newspaper, old clothes and toilet paper as alternatives. It is estimated that over 137,000 children across the UK have missed school days due to period poverty. 68% said they felt less able to pay attention in class at school or college while menstruating. 40% of girls in the UK have used toilet roll because they couldn’t afford menstrual products. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f80515a75e4103957093a5c/1602525382805/Quote_Post1.jpg WHAT IS PERIOD POVERTY? - What is the impact? A survey of more than 1,000 girls in the UK found nearly half were embarrassed by their period and many were afraid to ask for help because of the stigma. Almost half of British girls have said they have witnessed their peers being bullied or shamed about their periods. The stigma surrounding periods has been shown to directly affect a girl’s potential to succeed. If a girl misses school every time she has her period, she is set 145 days behind her fellow male students. We need to normalise the conversation surrounding periods, and end the silence that is culturally and socially entrenched. A quarter of the population menstruates at any given time, so why are we too embarrassed to talk about this normal and natural biological phenomenon? Period poverty is a facet of menstrual inequity – something that exists across the globe. The United Nations has noted that up to 30% of Afghan and Nepalese girls miss school every month during their period, while in India around 20% drop out of education entirely after their period begins. In countries such a Nepal, girls are forced to sleep outside in ‘period huts’ in a practice known as Chhaupadi. Although it’s banned, it’s a practice that persists. Many girls and women have died from cold, smoke inhalation, or snake bites. In Sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, child marriage would decrease by over 60% if all girls had secondary education Young girls who do not receive an education are more likely to enter child marriages and experience an early pregnancy, malnourishment, domestic violence, and pregnancy complications as a result. The failure to support women to care for their periods and manage their menstrual cycle is a loss for society at large. https://www.freeperiods.org/getinvolved daily 0.75 2020-10-15 https://www.freeperiods.org/contact daily 0.75 2020-10-14 https://www.freeperiods.org/who daily 0.75 2020-10-14 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85cb19c4865d07b820efb0/1602603808703/Gemma.jpg https://youtu.be/-hR0rtIEzN0 - GEMMA ABBOTT - DIRECTOR Gemma is a lawyer and activist. As well as fighting period poverty as part of the Free Periods team, she is the Legal Director of the Good Law Project, a not-for-profit organisation that uses the law to protect the environment, uphold democracy and ensure no one is left behind. She is passionate about social justice and equality, and works determinedly to hold those in power to account. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85cb7acf575a4593a7aa7f/1602603905916/Clegg.jpg https://youtu.be/-hR0rtIEzN0 - CLEGG BAMBER - DIRECTOR Clegg is one of the co-founders of the Red Box Project and has worked with charities in a voluntary position as well as a paid member of staff since being at University. This includes working with one of the UK’s Air Ambulance’s and sitting on the operations committee of a voluntary outreach group that supports the homeless and vulnerable within the city of Portsmouth. He has also previously worked in a school as a teaching assistant and tutor and firmly believes in the rights to an equal and fair education. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85cac41ecb715bf481a3a8/1602603734669/Janvi.jpg https://youtu.be/-hR0rtIEzN0 - JANVI PATEL - DIRECTOR Janvi Patel is a strong supporter and advocate for women’s rights at all levels. A regular keynote speaker on female founders and women in leadership, she is also a board member of NGO Equality Now, who work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls around the world and the Children of War foundation, whose projects offer specialist healthcare and medical education in underrepresented regions In 2007, she co-founded Halebury, one of the first alternative legal services providers at that time. Janvi has been featured on the UK’s first ever Power Part Time 50 list and was awarded the Red Women Award. She was listed in Top 50 Most Influential Women in the City and won the WeAreTheCity – Rising Star Awards. She has been nominated for the Great British Entrepreneur and Asian Women of the Year Awards. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85caf7bdda8c6d49e3d2da/1602603772986/Headshot%2B-%2BMollie%2BRose.jpg https://youtu.be/-hR0rtIEzN0 - AMIKA GEORGE - FOUNDER Amika George is a 20 year old student at Cambridge University, who, at the age of 17, started the Free Periods campaign from her bedroom to end period poverty in the UK. She has since received global recognition for her campaigning work including receiving a Goalkeepers award by Bill & Melinda Gates, in conjunction with the United Nations, and was recently listed by TIME magazine as one of the 25 most influential teenagers in the world. Her upcoming book, ‘Make It Happen: How to be an Activist’, is available for pre-order here. https://www.freeperiods.org/freeperiodstories daily 0.75 2020-10-14 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85b4639ddf1861a9f93e58/1602598003707/X-06.png #FREEPERIODSTORIES We are taught from a very young age to hide our periods, to treat them as if they are a secret because they are gross and unnatural. It’s no wonder that when we start our periods, we often find ourselves traumatised, bewildered and isolated. The taboo around periods is a form of misogyny; representing a broader subordination of women and people that menstruate. This is destructive. But since the stigma around periods is a social construct, and we believe we can deconstruct it through conversation, through normalisation, and we need to dismantle it to build a more equal society for everyone. We’re challenging the stigma around periods by encouraging online and IRL conversation to normalise them. We need to break the silence around a normal, human process. Post your funny, awkward or memorable period stories tagging #FreePeriodStories and ask your friends to do the same! Go to our Instagram page, or #FreePeriodStories to watch the stories we’ve collected so far. As long as periods continue to be shrouded by shame and stigma, we will all continue to suffer. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85b42206147e7945501d45/1602597924663/X-09.png #FREEPERIODSTORIES - #FreePeriodStories Remember that time when you dropped a tampon in front of your family? How you curled up with embarrassment when an advert for pads aired when you were watching TV with your parents? Do you still hide a tampon up your sleeve as you shuffle to the bathroom? Do you whisper the word ‘period’ and ask a friend for products in hushed tones like you’re doing something wrong? Society has conditioned us to be ashamed of our period, and buy into the big, fat lie that there is something wrong with the menstruating body, that it’s weird, disgusting and dirty. At Free Periods, we believe that’s ridiculous. Periods are a natural, normal biological process that a quarter of the world’s population experience, at any given time. They are often unavoidable and inevitable, a result of having a uterus. Yet, we live under an almighty shadow of shame from the minute we start menstruating. https://www.freeperiods.org/free-periods-in-schools daily 0.75 2020-10-31 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85b2c189ec451885c572fc/1602597582318/Fact_Post1.jpg FREE PERIODS IN SCHOOLS - FREE PERIODS IN SCHOOLS We were tired of waiting. We knew that under the Equality Act, the Government had an obligation to make sure that all young people are in school. If periods were a barrier to young people receiving that education, then it was clear that the Government had to put in place measures to eradicate that barrier. Our solution to that was to ensure provision of free period products in all state-maintained English schools and colleges. In January 2019, we joined forces with the Red Box Project and began to work with human rights lawyers (barristers Schona Jolly QC and Claire McCann and Hausfeld law firm) to build up a robust legal case. In April 2019, the Government agreed. From January 2020, every state-maintained school and college in England has been able to order free period products for their students. Success! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f843131adcb2360b96f76ba/1602496493628/Quote_Post1.jpg FREE PERIODS IN SCHOOLS - YOU CAN HELP! Use this template letter to get in touch with your local school or college, and let them know about the scheme. Post our graphics on social media, to spread the word about the scheme. Guidance on the scheme and how to place orders is available here. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85b2e60bddd878caa37c4d/1602597611211/ FREE PERIODS IN SCHOOLS But the COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous for the elimination of period poverty. Schools closed. Jobs were lost. Incomes shrunk or dried up altogether. Young people have told us that they are struggling to manage their menstrual health. They are asking for help because having a period every month is a huge and unavoidable financial burden, one that’s felt most acutely by the most vulnerable and marginalised. We have found out that, although the Government is offering free period products to all English schools and colleges, take up has been disappointedly low. Only 40% of eligible institutions having signed up for the scheme so far. Why? There has been some confusion in schools on how best to access the scheme, and because the stigma silences any need for period products (with many young people feeling uncomfortable asking for products), schools may not realise how urgent and pressing the need for free provision really is. At Free Periods, we don’t think this is acceptable. We are raising awareness of the scheme and encouraging schools and colleges to opt-in. Not only will this address young people’s menstrual needs, it will remedy any danger of revoking the scheme – a potential threat if schools don’t sign up. https://www.freeperiods.org/free-periods-protest daily 0.75 2020-10-13 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29b9/1602497136791/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%286%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29ad/1602497136523/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%284%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29af/1602497136529/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%285%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29b5/1602497136328/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2824%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29c0/1602497136337/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2819%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29ab/1602497136327/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2810%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a7/1602497136340/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2815%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29b3/1602497136334/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%282%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29bd/1602497136318/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%281%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29b7/1602497136319/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2829%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29b1/1602497136316/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2837%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a6/5f84313ffa00313a7c8a29a9/1602497102167/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2842%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f85c569f49c377ee3f34656/1602602352696/Amelia%2BAllen_Free%2BPeriods%2BProtest_%2B%2810%2Bof%2B46%29.jpg FREE PERIODS PROTEST - FREE PERIODS PROTEST We teamed up with feminist activist group The Pink Protest to organise the #FreePeriods protest in December 2017. Here’s what happened… https://www.freeperiods.org/home-2 daily 0.75 2020-10-12 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/5f84724f4bb76f723c6ca449/1494883180576/5472462536_79320276cf_o.jpg HOME https://www.freeperiods.org/read daily 0.75 2021-01-08 https://www.freeperiods.org/graphics daily 0.75 2020-10-16 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f898bb866da951ac81bc506/1602849723900/WhatsApp+Image+2020-10-15+at+18.59.16.jpeg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f898bb835c7b3571aa613db/1602849725109/WhatsApp+Image+2020-10-15+at+18.59.15.jpeg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f8745fd051a48789a5c8482/1602701858512/PR_Instagram_Stories_Screen_3A.jpg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f8745f8e8ceb8720d77b66c/1602701858235/PR_Instagram_Stories_Screen_2.jpg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f8745f43773b12b62fe4045/1602701858136/PR_Instagram_Stories_Screen_1.jpg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f8745ec317a3737f0bdc0ef/1602701858083/PR_Instagram_Posts_Screen_3A.jpg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f8745e66d42b800f212a228/1602701856752/PR_Instagram_Posts_Screen_2.jpg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f8745e6a5cb8f53650e4c7e/1602700787591/PR_Instagram_Posts_Screen_1.jpg GRAPHICS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/5f8745d9e026f00e078d8485/5f8745da6d42b800f2129d1d/1602701878268/PR_Digital_Badge.jpg GRAPHICS https://www.freeperiods.org/new-page-2 daily 0.75 2020-10-15 https://www.freeperiods.org/letterschools daily 0.75 2021-03-11 https://www.freeperiods.org/letterlocalauthorities daily 0.75 2021-03-11 https://www.freeperiods.org/lettergeneral daily 0.75 2021-03-11 https://www.freeperiods.org/intl-womens-day-2021-op-ed daily 0.75 2021-03-11 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/6049f8795f471958878feae6/1615460597293/119571248_181609650146233_8792885245823854730_n.jpg INTL WOMEN'S DAY 2021 OP ED Kasey Robinson’s Proud of my Period (POMP) Instagram centres Black people in conversations about periods https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f7f2f70303ac70c58f4d06e/t/6047d03742351325d95239b3/1615460833659/Always-MHH-Report-Launch-post-image-%28003%29%40lowres.png INTL WOMEN'S DAY 2021 OP ED Always’ “It’s Time To Talk!” report is about period stigma in the UK, published earlier in 2021