Period Dignity project launches to provide free period products for students who need them
A selection of tampons and pads are available in dispensers located in ground floor toilets across all BCU campuses for students who need them.
The Period Dignity scheme aims to ensure that students and staff don’t have to choose between being able to afford food or heating and being able to afford period products.
The products will be provided by Hey Girls, an award-winning period product social enterprise, that matches every purchase with a donation to those in need, including to schools and Ukrainian refugees. In 2019, Hey Girls launched the Period Dignity Movement, encouraging employers to stock period products in staff toilets so that no one is caught short at work.
If you have benefitted from the scheme or want to give your feedback, fill in the survey below. Information will be used to help BCU decide on whether to extend its the pilot scheme, results may also be used by BCU researchers.
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BCU Research Fellow Gemma Williams, who has led the project, said: “It’s really encouraging to see BCU recognise the essential nature of period products with the introduction of the Period Dignity Pilot Scheme, especially with the increase in ‘period poverty’ across the UK exacerbated by the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis.
"Our ongoing research on menstrual health inequalities has shaped the pilot scheme roll-out, and we’re thrilled to know it is being used to support our own staff and students’ menstrual health and wellbeing.”
Interested in learning more about menstrual health? Check out the following events on campus: