International Women's Day - Ending the taboo. Ending the poverty. Period. 

Period poverty continues to be an issue that a lot of girls and women face in the UK today.

With the taxation of sanitary products, those who cannot afford them have had to resort to alternatives such as toilet paper, newspaper, and rags. Without access to such necessary products, and with all the stigma and shame that surrounds menstruation, many girls have resorted to skipping school on a monthly basis. This is an issue that affects both women here in the UK and across the globe. Some of the women most affected are refugees, who are often unable to access necessary sanitary products in places of settlement, in camps or on their journeys fleeing their countries.

Join Essex STAR in a discussion about the taboo that is menstruation and help to end it.

Why is it a topic everyone avoids?

How does period poverty affect the lives of girls and women who lack access to the “luxury” that is a sanitary product?

How is this relevant to the context of refugees?

And finally, what can we do to make it better?

Sanitary products donated as part of this event will be donated to Refugee Action Colchester to be distributed to refugee women in the local community.

Join us to end the silence. Let’s raise awareness together. Let’s speak up.