‘It’s easier to get a condom than a pad’: Lacking period products, a third of girls miss school

Children have shared how they find it easier to access free condoms at school than period products, as new research reveals that period poverty is still holding pupils back.

Young girls have described how they are skipping school due to a lack of access to period products. They also described the shame surrounding getting permission to leave the classroom to go to the toilet during lesson times.

Shocking new figures reveal a third of girls are missing school because of a lack of understanding or access to period products – which equates to three million school days missed every year.

One girl told i it is actually easier to get hold of condoms in some schools than period products, and described how many girls are too terrified of bleeding through their uniform they would sooner stay off school than risk that happening.

To realise period dignity in schools, Irise International, a global leader in period equality, has brought together young activists across the UK to launch its campaign Every Period Counts to shift the shame from young students back to those in power.

New data commissioned by a group of UK charities fighting period poverty – Irise, In Kind Direct, Cysters, Freedom4Girls and Bloody Good Period – reveals that almost half of 13-18-year-old girls (44 per cent) reported having difficulty accessing free period products at school, and 44 per cent also said they felt too embarrassed to ask for period products at school.

A quarter of girls (24 per cent) felt too embarrassed to notify a teacher when they had started their period and a staggering 61 per cent reported issues accessing toilets in lesson times while on their period.

Period equality charity Irise International surveyed 1,007 girls for the research.

Freya, 16, who lives in Cardiff, told i how it is easier to get a condom than period pads in some schools and described how she had problems getting hold of period products when coming on her period during class.

"I was in a class with a male teacher which caused an extra level of awkwardness and embarrassment," said Freya. "I had a feeling I had come on my period and I asked if I could go to the toilet and at first, the teacher wouldn't let me go, but I emphasised the need.

"When I realised I was on my period, I had to work out how to get a pad. I had some in my bag in the classroom, but I hadn't wanted to get them out in front of everyone and I had run out of the classroom."

Freya said she wandered around for a while before eventually getting a pad from the school office. When she returned to her class, she had been gone for around 15 minutes and her teacher demanded to know where she had been. Out of embarrassment, she was vague in her explanation so the teacher assumed she had been "mucking about".

"The school isn't happy with pupils leaving the classroom during lesson times," explained Freya. "But that makes life very difficult for girls when they are on their period."

Freya explained that, with a free condom scheme for young people in Wales, it is actually easier for them to get hold of condoms than period products, and they are talked about more openly.

She said some girls even resort to hiding pads in their shoes during exam time so they won't get caught short or worry about where to get them. "You never know when you are going to come on your period and you don't want to start when you don't have anything on you, especially in a stressful situation like an exam," she said.

Freya said after having talks on energy drinks and drugs at school, she and some of her friends asked if they could have a talk on periods, but she claims they were told no because they had "already had the talk in Year 6."

"There have definitely been vast improvements in my school when it comes to period products, but there is still a lot of work to be done," she said.

"The statistics about girls missing school because of their periods are astonishing and I think schools should be more understanding instead of being judgmental.

"Periods have been tabooed for decades and centuries and now is a time when we shouldn't have girls who don't want to go into school and get the education they deserve because they are not getting the understanding they need around periods.

"There is still a taboo around periods in schools across the country and they need to change things to stop girls feeling like they have no choice but to miss school."

Anna, 13, who lives in Sheffield, says in her school, there is a machine selling period products in the toilets but some girls feel forced to choose between buying their lunch or buying a period product when they are caught short.

"I think especially during a cost of living crisis, there shouldn't be a situation where people have to choose whether they get to eat lunch that day or whether they get to be comfortable in their lessons and not have to worry about bleeding through their trousers," she said.

Anna explained that her school actually received free period products from Freedom4Girls, but pupils either didn't realise they were available or didn't like having to go to the office to ask for them.

But she says now there is a box with period products in the toilets, although it isn't regularly stocked. "When the free period products were in the office, you didn't know who you would have to ask for them and it could be a male teacher which is uncomfortable for a lot of girls.

"In that situation, girls will have been caught out with their period and be embarrassed already without having to go and talk to a teacher and jump through hoops to get a pad. It is just ridiculous.

"Now, the free products are in the toilets in a box, but the stocking of them is irregular or if they do refill it, it is just pads, when not everyone uses pads.

"The machines where you pay for period products are still there so people are still using them to buy products if the free ones haven't been refilled."

Anna told i that recently, a girl in her class asked to go to the toilet and was told "no" and after asking several times, she felt forced to say in front of everyone that she was on her period and needed to go.

"A teacher told us if a pupil is caught in the corridors during lesson time, the teacher whose lesson they were supposed to be in gets in trouble.

"Schools need to look at their rules and understand the impact on girls on their period. It would be much easier if they just allowed girls a few minutes out of a lesson to go to the toilet, rather than have them missing the whole day of school.

"I know girls who have felt so uncomfortable on their periods and have been so scared of getting caught out at school that they have just missed school for the entire day."

The Every Period Counts campaign is backed by many charities and is capturing the horror stories of young people across the UK. Their first-hand accounts reveal the shocking reports of students being denied access to toilets in lessons and being left to bleed on their seats.

Tilly, 16, said: "During my Year 10 English exam, I leaked on my exam chair and went two hours sitting and not saying a word.

"At this time, products were hidden away in the cupboards and none were available in the exam venue.

"At the end of the exam, I broke down as I didn't know what to do. My school had locked the girls’ toilets and we only had one unisex toilet."

The Every Period Counts campaign is calling for all UK schools to make period products available to everyone who needs them in a shame-free way; for the UK Government to commit to a new action plan to eradicate period poverty and shame in UK schools by 2025 and for politicians to make period dignity a right by legislating for it in England and Wales.

Emily Wilson, CEO of Irise International, said: "Young people are sick of missing out on class, sports and other opportunities because society won't prioritise their basic needs.

"They are done with feeling ashamed and are claiming their right to menstruate with dignity in UK schools.

"Despite policy and budget commitments, more work is needed in UK schools to realise the Government's vision of ending period poverty and shame for all by 2025.

"Period poverty and shame are getting worse due to the cost of living crisis, meaning that more young people are experiencing anxiety and indignity every month and missing out on crucial education as a result."

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Since the launch of our free period products scheme in January 2020, 97 per cent of secondary schools and 92 per cent of post-16 organisations in England have ordered free period products for pupils, and we’re encouraging more primary schools to sign up.

"School leaders and teachers know their pupils best and our guidance provides advice and support on ways to promote the scheme to pupils that avoids embarrassment or stigma. It also encourages schools to involve pupils in deciding which period products are ordered."