Grant scheme to help local organisations tackle period poverty launches

Organisations working to tackle period poverty in England are now able to apply for a grant through the global children’s charity Plan International UK.

The grant scheme is part of a project run by Plan International UK and the young people’s sexual health and wellbeing charity Brook called Let’s Talk. Period aimed at tackling period poverty.

This year, a survey by Plan International UK found that 42 per cent of girls living in the UK have been forced to use makeshift period products because they have struggled to afford them. More than a quarter of girls (27 per cent) said they had used a period product for longer than its intended use because they could not afford to use a fresh one and 48 per cent of UK girls feel embarrassed by their period.

Grants of up to £10,000 are available for a maximum of one year for projects that show they are proactively helping young people up to age 25 in need to tackle period poverty. Research by Plan International UK found that a toxic trio of factors make up the problem of period poverty, these are lack of education and knowledge; stigma and taboo and the affordability and availability of products. Projects applying will be asked to address these factors. 

Nicola Bristow, Let’s Talk. Period. Community and Grants Co-ordinator at Plan International UK, said:

“We know that girls in the UK are struggling to afford the costs involved with managing their period each month and the stigma surrounding periods is making it very difficult for them to seek help.

“There are some incredible initiatives happening locally to help people manage their periods and we hope these grants will provide extra support to enable these projects to continue.”

If you would like to find out more about how to apply then click here.

The deadline for applications is Monday 14 January 2019.