The cost of living crisis is hitting students hard and we want to do everything within our power to support you. Over the last few months, your sabbatical officer team has been working with the College to bring free period products to campus.
The cost of living crisis is hitting students hard but as your sabbatical officers, we want to do everything within our power to support you.
Over the last few months, I have been working with the College to bring free period products to campus. We’ve had them in the Students’ Union building in our Advice Centre for a few years now and anyone can take them for free during our opening hours. However, when I campaigned to be President, a student specifically asked me to lobby for free period products across campus so I co-wrote a proposal with the College’s Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and have subsequently been in conversations with the College to get this implemented. Access to free period products isn’t just about the cost of living: period dignity (the accessibility and availability of essential care needed to support a period, in conjunction with the breaking of stigma and taboo around periods) is so important and everyone should have easy access to period products. 94% of secondary schools in England provide free period products for their students – why should that support disappear at university?
I also want the scheme to be inclusive and sustainable, so I’ve been lobbying for the following:
- To have products in every toilet, not just women’s ones, so the products are accessible to trans, gender-diverse, and disabled students.
- For the products to be visibly gender-neutral i.e. have plain packaging so we don’t contribute to the false narrative that menstruation is something exclusively female.
- Products to be sustainable and ethically sourced.
The implementation is now in the College’s hands and I have been lobbying hard to ensure the above asks are followed. I’m really excited to be able to deliver this and bring something materially beneficial for students to campus. It’s so great to see student-driven ideas come to fruition - I even included a quote from the student who messaged me about period dignity in the proposal I wrote with College. I will keep you updated on progress; the College has flagged it as a priority so watch this space!