{"id":47202,"date":"2018-12-13T12:18:50","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T12:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=47202"},"modified":"2018-12-14T14:19:59","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T14:19:59","slug":"poverty-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period","title":{"rendered":"#InPoverty: How the Welsh government ensure dignity for students with periods"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Welsh government have finally secured funding to tackle period poverty in schools, but is the problem about more than just money?<\/h2>\n
\"\"

The government hope to reduce absences by providing sanitary products for students<\/p><\/div>\n

You check your calendar and see you are due on your period and the stress returns. You wonder if you\u2019ll get into trouble for missing the English test on Tuesday – but what option do you have when you cannot afford sanitary products?<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>recent study<\/span><\/a> by onepoll.com, commissioned by Always, revealed every year 137,000 girls miss school because they cannot afford sanitary products.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, on 23 March 2018, the Welsh government <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> a \u00a31 million grant to tackle period poverty in Wales<\/a>. Included in this grant is \u00a3700,000 capital funding. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe capital funding was specifically to improve school facilities to ensure dignity for young people in managing their periods,\u201d says Sally Hunt, the senior child poverty manager in the Welsh government. <\/span><\/p>\n

Children\u2019s charity Plan International UK discovered t<\/span>his money is desperately needed.\u00a0Their study<\/a> revealed one in ten girls aged between 14-21 have been unable to afford sanitary products.<\/p>\n

The grant has been given to local authorities to spend, as they are best placed to identify where period poverty is worst. They are expecting reports back on its progress next month.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have asked local authorities for feedback on how this money has been spent,\u201d Sally continues. \u201cThe monitoring forms are currently being received and the Leader of the House hopes we will uncover good practice that can be shared across Wales.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Prominent Period Poverty<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Outside of Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taff has the largest number of households with an income below the 60% GB median.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

This map highlights the density of poverty in South East Wales<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of deprivation within Rhondda Cynon Taff, we\u2019re one of the most deprived counties,\u201d says Rhondda Cynon Taff councillor, Shelley Rees-Owen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shelley chairs the Children and Young People\u2019s scrutiny committee, who were tasked with tackling period poverty in Rhondda Cynon Taf before the grant existed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her group sent out questionnaires to understand the gravity of the issue. Shelley says, \u201cPeople said their mum couldn\u2019t afford to buy them sanitary products, so they would use a sock or another item of clothing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The results became part of a wider report Shelley and her team put together for her council. This later caught the attention of the Welsh government who then organised the grant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTheir mum couldn\u2019t afford to buy them sanitary products, so they would use a sock or another item of clothing.\u201d \u2013 Cllr Shelley Rees-Owen<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A 13-year-old-student from the Rhondda Cynon Taf authority says her school has just received sanitary products from the government grant. She thinks having free sanitary products is a good idea, but she hasn\u2019t been told how long the provision will last.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bleeding the funds dry
\n<\/strong><\/span>Shelley also raised a concern about the inadequacy of the funding, \u201cWhen the Welsh government gave a particular sum and divided it to all the local authorities it wouldn\u2019t have been enough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, Sally Hunt says the funding for period products is only until 2020. \u201cNo decision has been made as yet on future funding,\u201d she explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shelley hopes the local authorities\u2019 feedback will be enough to encourage long-term provision, as her report showed a unanimous agreement towards sanitary provision being as freely available as toilet roll.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo decision has been made as yet on future funding,\u201d – Sally Hunt, senior child poverty manager<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Blood Gives Blood estimates a person with periods will spend, on average, \u00a34,800 in a lifetime (just under \u00a311 per month) on sanitary products. However, this doesn\u2019t include additional costs to replace pants or bedding and medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of people who have periods find the most cost-effective way to afford their period is to buy sanitary products in bulk when they are on offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Most women bulk buy products when they are on offer to save money in the long-term.<\/p><\/div>\n

Many are now investing in menstrual cups or period pants which are both eco-friendly and reusable. This reduces the monthly cost and contributes less waste, but liners are also necessary as the products are not foolproof.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the average cost of period pants or a menstrual cup is upwards of <\/span>\u00a320<\/span><\/a>, an investment too steep for those in poverty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Could more be done?<\/strong>
\n<\/span> The findings of the Rhondda Cynon Taf\u2019s Children and Young People\u2019s scrutiny report not only highlighted an issue with period poverty, but a poverty in period education.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing the pupils were telling us was they want lessons on periods in front of boys,\u201d Shelley explains. \u201cThey think the boys should be present because they\u2019re going to be husbands, fathers, employers so they need to understand periods.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey really want to see the education improved and for male members of staff as well. We came across a lot of stories where they weren\u2019t allowed to go to the toilet during lessons.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

She continues to explain once the funding is all running smoothly she plans to talk with the director of education to tackle the issue with education.\u00a0<\/span>In addition, the findings from the report unanimously agreed everyone who has a period should have access to products as they do with toilet roll, regardless of whether they can afford them or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

The government has made a good start. However, if absences due to period poverty are to be tackled effectively, it needs to ensure funding continues past 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following this, education needs to be provided so future generations can understand the necessity for products and the burden of the cost, as well as the side effects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shelley says \u201cIf you\u2019re looking at just tackling period poverty, you\u2019re into the realm of means testing and we didn\u2019t want to be doing that. What we are after is a universal provision so anyone who needs to access the provision has it. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I know it\u2019s all running smoothly, I will be looking to the director of education to finalise work in terms of the education because it was equally important to the pupils.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Welsh government have finally secured funding to tackle period poverty in schools, but is the problem about more than just money?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":47276,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12341],"tags":[11248,12418,12417,11998,12419,4426,12408,12416,158],"yoast_head":"\n#InPoverty: How the Welsh government ensure dignity for students with periods - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"#InPoverty: How the Welsh government ensure dignity for students with periods - alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Welsh government have finally secured funding to tackle period poverty in schools, but is the problem about more than just money?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-13T12:18:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-14T14:19:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/periods-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"980\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"735\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CorriesComment\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\",\"name\":\"alt.cardiff\",\"description\":\"If it\\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\\u2019s online here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/periods-1.jpg\",\"width\":980,\"height\":735},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period\",\"name\":\"#InPoverty: How the Welsh government ensure dignity for students with periods - alt.cardiff\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-13T12:18:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-14T14:19:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/0adeec5b5847db7d5cda8ff0f9b03495\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/in-poverty\/poverty-period\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/0adeec5b5847db7d5cda8ff0f9b03495\",\"name\":\"Corrie David\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c13ce2218b88132e54498824834a5b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Corrie David\"},\"description\":\"Trainee journalist at Cardiff University. 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