London - On 8th January 2019 Amika George, Founder of Free Periods and ‘period poverty’ activist, announced a new legal campaign to provide free menstrual products to all schoolchildren.
The right to education is a fundamental human right and no child should be forced to miss school as a result of not being able to afford pads or tampons. The Government has an obligation to ensure that every child has the ability to enjoy this right and can participate in her or his education. The campaign by Free Periods, in partnership with the Red Box Project and supported by The Pink Protest, seeks to ensure that menstrual products should be freely available in schools to all children who need them.
In the UK, 49% of girls have missed an entire day of school because of their period, whilst 1 in 10 young women aged 14 to 21 have been unable to afford period products. In London alone, 80,000 young women and girls are affected by period poverty.
In 2018 the Scottish government became the first national government ever to provide free access to menstrual products in all schools, colleges and universities, whilst in Wales, the government pledged £1m to address period poverty. In England, no policies are in place.
Hausfeld has been engaged to examine the legal issues. Ingrid Gubbay, Hausfeld’s Head of Human Rights and Environmental Law says: “We are pleased to have been instructed by ‘Free Periods’ to explore avenues to hold Government to account and ensure it complies with its obligations under the law. The right to education is a fundamental human right, and the Government has an obligation to ensure that every child is able to participate in that fundamental human right.”
The campaign launches with a Crowdfunding drive to raise funds, with the requirement that £10k must be raised in 30 days for any of the pledges to be collected.
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