A campaign to supply sanitary protection to girls in need takes off

摘要

Earlier this year, the BBC reported the findings of a Leeds-based charity, Freedom4Girls, which shook me and many others to the core. Girls as young as 11 were missing school every month for the simple reason that they couldn't afford sanitary protection. The charity provides sanitary products to women abroad who can't afford them. But this wasn't just happening in rural parts of Africa, or the slums of Mumbai. It's happening right here, in Britain. Shocking isn't it? I decided to try and do something about it, so I started a campaign called #FreePeriods, calling on the government to provide free sanitary products to girls in need, to stop 'period poverty'. Eight weeks in, more than 7600 people have signed the petition, demanding these girls be helped. The issue came to light in March when Freedom4Girls was approached for donations by a local school. Teachers there had noticed some girls were absent around the same time every month. It transpired they couldn't afford sanitary products and it was easier for them to stay at home rather than face the possibility, a humiliating one, of leaking in front of their peers.