Free Periods: The Pink Protest

Fighting to smash taboos around menstruation and free UK girls from “period poverty."

The Problem

Thousands of girls in the UK are missing school because they cannot afford menstrual care. 1 in 10 girls can't afford to buy menstrual products, which cost around £13 a month, or more than £18,000 ($25,000) across a woman’s lifetime; 49 percent have missed a full day of school because of their period; 68 percent said they felt less able to pay attention in class at school or college while menstruating. Worse still, many girls are embarrassed by their periods and afraid to ask for help because of the stigma around talking about menstruation.

The Solution

Free Periods is on a mission to make sure “no girl in the UK is living in period poverty.” The organization considers menstrual care a fundamental human right and urges the UK Government to make a statutory pledge to end period poverty by providing free menstrual products to all girls in the UK who qualify for Free School Meals (a rough proxy for household income). In addition to changing policy on periods, Free Periods wants to change attitudes and smash taboos. Per the organization’s website, “Half of the world’s population bleeds every month, so why are we too embarrassed to talk about this very normal, natural process?” Their solution is to expel embarrassment or shame, and talk about periods – “no matter how bloody.”