Ipswich campaigners call for more free period products in businesses and public spaces
Young campaigners are calling for more businesses and community venues to provide free period products to tackle period poverty and stigma.
Ipswich Period Rights, which has been set up through Ipswich MP Jack Abbott's Summer School, is highlighting places where people can already access products for free while encouraging more organisations to offer them.
The group has been speaking to businesses and members of the public across the town and says one of the issues it has identified is a lack of awareness about support which already exists.
Campaigner Caoimhe Keaney said the group had spoken to one woman whose daughter had struggled to afford period products but did not know free products were already available through a library scheme.
She said: "A lot of people who are suffering don't know how to get help."
The campaign is now developing an interactive map showing businesses and community spaces where free period products are available, with posters also planned to help direct people towards the information.
'There isn't enough provision'
She explained that period poverty is generally used to describe being unable to afford or access suitable menstrual products.
Ipswich Period Rights says its campaign has three aims: to raise awareness and challenge stigma, help people find existing support and encourage greater provision of free products.
Caoimhe said the group believed there was currently insufficient provision in some public and community spaces in Ipswich.
The campaign is highlighting businesses and venues which already provide free products, including Another Bowl, Cub Cafe and Harvest Moon, while encouraging others to consider stocking them in their toilets.
Caoimhe said conversations with businesses had also suggested some workplaces were providing products primarily for their own staff rather than as a specific response to period poverty.
She said some staff told campaigners they had bought products themselves for colleagues, adding that she was surprised by the apparent lack of awareness of the wider issue.
Cost of period products
Research cited by the campaign suggests affordability remains an issue for some people.
According to an ActionAid UK poll referenced by Ipswich Period Rights, 11% of people who menstruate in the UK had struggled to afford period products in the previous year, with some having to prioritise spending on essentials including food and energy.
The campaign also cites a 2021 Suffolk County Council survey which found 43% of respondents had used sanitary products which were not fit for purpose, or had used them for too long, because of cost.
Caoimhe told us the potential consequences extended beyond accessing the products themselves.
She said almost a quarter of people unable to afford period products in research cited by the campaign had reported staying at home as a result, potentially affecting their work and social lives.
Tackling stigma
The campaign also wants to make period products more visible and reduce the embarrassment some people may feel when asking for them.
Caoimhe suggested period products could be included more regularly among items requested at supermarket donation points, saying greater visibility could help make conversations around the issue less "hush hush".
She added: "I think a lot of people have to go and really ask if they want sanitary products and people don't feel comfortable doing that."
During the campaign, the group spoke to Katy Robinson, who has previously campaigned for more inclusive personal protective equipment for women working in construction.
Discussing the provision of period products in workplace toilets, she told the group: "I can guarantee not everybody uses the soap, but we still provide it."
Deputy Leader of Ipswich Borough Council, Cllr Bryony Rudkin, also told the campaign: "It's not just period poverty, it's accessibility."
Caoimhe said she believed period poverty should be considered a wider societal issue rather than one solely for women to address.
She said: "I don't think it should be just a burden on women to help women. We should be all trying to help each other."
'A major issue in Ipswich'
Ipswich MP Jack Abbott, whose Summer School the campaign is part of, said period poverty was "clearly a major issue in Ipswich".
He said: "At the heart of the issue is the cost of living crisis, but also the stigma and systemic issues that affect women's health."
Charlotte Legrand, a spokesperson for Ipswich Period Rights, said the group had been encouraged by the number of businesses already offering free products.
She said: "While this is a topic that is often surrounded by stigma, it has been really positive to see the ways in which the community has supported our campaign.
"Food banks, churches, councillors and local charities are already doing important work, and we hope to raise greater awareness of the support that is available."
Caoimhe also described the response from people the group had approached as generally positive and said many members of the community had wanted to help.
Ipswich Period Rights is encouraging businesses, community venues and public bodies to consider providing free period products, while residents are being asked to help publicise places where they are already available.