“Well you must be a real delight to work with!” was my best friend’s WhatsApp response when I mentioned my plan to shut down a load of ladies’ cubicles in Havas Village London (Havas King’s Cross). And rightly so… what a pain! When I came up with the idea to raise awareness for Menstrual Hygiene Day (28 May), the last thing we needed was confusingly “out of order” but still-fully-functioning toilets throughout the building.
Obviously, we couldn’t (and didn’t) shut down all the female toilets but the sad truth is that this is the harsh reality faced by so many girls and women globally, including the UK. Imagine not having access to a proper toilet. Or not being able to wash your hands. Or not knowing where or when you’ll get your next tampon or sanitary pad.
A lack of basic infrastructure and facilities, difficulty in accessing or inability to purchase sanitary products, and few private, well-lit bathrooms, mean that many girls and women are too embarrassed to leave their homes when they have their periods. For some girls, this results in missing or even dropping out of school once they start menstruating. Not having an education because you have a healthy body and uterus is just ludicrous.
Here in the UK, the homeless, those living in poverty and women refugees experience poor menstrual hygiene management. It has been reported that some girls cannot afford sanitary products so they’re using socks instead. Currently, female prisoners are the only women who have a right to free sanitary protection in the UK.
A male colleague asked why had I not done anything in the men’s loos. The truth is, men won’t ever have a period ‘horror story’. You know what I mean ladies, that time your period got in the way or you had a messy accident that left you feeling like you wanted to curl up and hide from the world. It’s a difficult one for men to relate to but a topic that they shouldn’t shy away from as it’s a completely natural physiological system of the body that their wives, girlfriends, daughters, sisters and friends go through, just like the digestive or respiratory system.
Want to help?
- Talk about it. Help break down the taboo around menstruation. According to a recent survey 1 in 4 women in the UK don’t understand their menstrual cycle. How are we supposed to help women and girls around the world manage their menstruation when we can’t talk about it openly ourselves.
- Donate to charities like Action Aid who are helping women in developing countries with their menstrual hygiene management.
- Think global, act local: donate sanitary products to your local food bank. We’re collecting products in our office building and will be donating them to our local food bank next week….
