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Response to Government campaign to end period poverty

Response to Government campaign to end period poverty

The UK Government has today announced a new campaign to end period poverty globally by 2030.

Responding, Lucy Russell, Head of Girls’ Rights and Youth at Plan International UK, said:

“The Government has made a crucial commitment to tackling global period poverty. We hope this welcome investment of resources will be used to address not just access to products, but the issues at the root of this problem – high-cost period products, lack of education and the stigma and shame that surrounds periods.

“If girls around the world – including here in the UK – are to reach their full potential, then we must tackle the taboos and prejudices that surround periods. Period poverty is both a cause and consequence of gender inequality and can have a serious impact on girls’ education. It’s therefore critical that efforts to tackle it are linked in with wider education programmes on sexual and reproductive health.

“Here in the UK, the Government’s new relationship and sex education curriculum offers that rare opportunity to transform how children and young people learn about periods. We must make sure those classes genuinely reflect girls’ needs and experiences.”