Period Poverty | 26.05.21

Five ways to help fight UK period poverty in 2021

Five ways to help fight UK period poverty in 2021 (in honour of Menstrual Hygiene Day)

Your period.  If you have a uterus and are of reproductive age, you are likely to be all-too familiar with this basic biological function.

For most of us, we care for our periods almost without thinking; we have access to water, we can purchase period products and we can manage our menstruation in safe, secure environments.

Five ways to help fight UK period poverty in 2021 (in honour of Menstrual Hygiene Day)

Unfortunately in the UK today, that is still not the case for everybody.

Not everyone in the UK has access to  period products or basic methods of caring for their periods. Period poverty is not going away, in fact we know it’s getting worse and more people in the UK are struggling every month.

To help support the work of Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD), which aims to raise awareness and break the silence on period poverty globally, we’d like to share five ways you can help fight period poverty in the UK in 2021.

Before we start, just what is Menstrual Hygiene Day?

Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD) is a global initiative that seeks to raise awareness of the importance of good menstrual health.

MHD aims to eradicate period poverty – and stigma – by 2030 and seeks to empower people to manage their periods safely, with confidence and without shame.

Established in 2014, it aims to encourage both action and investment in menstrual health. For further info about its reach, you can watch the MHD 2021 campaign video or view the MHD impact report.

Ready to help fight UK period poverty? Follow our top five tips to get started today:

1. Buy a Hey Girls period product

As the only buy-one give-one period product social enterprise, we are committed to using our profits to provide vital period products to those in need. By supporting our cause and buying Hey Girls products, those who can afford period products can make a real difference to the lives of those who can’t.

We have a range of products including 100% organic cotton tampons, reusables pads and pantyliners, menstrual cups and period pants. We are one of the only period product companies that are 100% plastic free.

One of our favourite products that exist to promote better period health are our menstrual cups and sterilising pots. In fact, our menstrual cup has recently been voted as one of the best cups on the market by both Cosmopolitan and Red.

Why not give a cup a go, and encourage others to try, too?

Hey Girls - Cups FAQS

2. Get involved in Menstrual Hygiene Day activities on social media

Menstrual Hygiene Day itself has a whole host of initiatives for supporters to get involved with, which can be found on it’s website. One of the simplest ways to lend support is to share about the day on your social media platforms, using the hashtags #MHDay2021 #ItsTimeForAction.

3. Lobby your local MP

One of the most impactful ways to help end UK period poverty is to get it on the agenda of your local MP, so they can lobby for change at national government level.

Use this super easy database to track down your local MP and email them with a link to this blog post, our #SeeingRed period poverty campaign page, our UNsanitary campaign page, and your concerns about period poverty as one of their local constituents.

UNsanitary Pads

4. Host an awareness party

If you are as passionate about eradicating UK period poverty as we are, why not consider hosting an awareness party – either online or in-person (adhering to the latest Covid guidelines, of course)?

Gather your friends, family and/or colleagues together, show our #SeeingRed video and plan a fundraising initiative. Every new person who becomes aware of UK period poverty can be an agent for change.

Hey Girls - Group of 3 Girls

5. Donate to Hey Girls

Did you know that as well as buying our environmentally-friendly buy-one give-one period products, you can also help fight UK period poverty by providing a one-off donation? We are a Community Interest Company and, as such, all our profits go back into period products for those in need.

Every penny counts. For example:

  • A £10 donation provides two months of product for someone living in period poverty
  • A £25 donation provides five months of product for someone living in period poverty
  • A £50 donation provides 10 months of product for someone living in period poverty
  • A £100 donation provides 20 months of product for someone living in period poverty

You can donate to our latest #SeeingRed UK period poverty awareness campaign right here.

Seeing Red Hey Girls Blog Post

Takeaway thoughts

Access to period products is a right – not a privilege. We believe everyone deserves access to high quality period care.

Has this article inspired you to take action on UK period poverty?

Don’t forget you can keep in touch with everything we do at Hey Girls, by subscribing to our #SeeingRed period poverty awareness campaign alerts and newsletter.

Watch the video here:

MHD21HeyGirls

 

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