It’s Time To Talk About Period Poverty & The Cost Of Living Crisis

As the cost of living crisis intensifies, one in eight Britons says they'll struggle to afford period products over the next year. This is an alarming rise – around twice as many – from the one in 16 who've struggled to afford them in the past year.

Young people who menstruate are most likely to be anticipating period poverty, a new YouGov poll found. Close to one in six Britons aged between 18 and 24 said they'll struggle to afford sanitary products in the next 12 months.

Disappointingly, the poll also found that nearly a third of people in the UK have never even heard the term "period poverty". Among men who don't menstruate, this figure rises to a frankly quite embarrassing 42%.

Last month Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products free for absolutely everyone. People in Scotland who need free sanitary item can find out where to collect them using the PickupMyPeriod mobile app, which has been created by the Hey Girls social enterprise.

Sadly, no such provision has been introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland yet. However, several charities and organisations across the UK are working to eradicate period poverty and provide free period products, including Bloody Good Period, Freedom4Girls and Hey Girls.

Free period products are also available in schools and at almost all food banks – you can find out where your nearest food bank is here.

Since last August, free period products have also been available to anyone who needs them in all branches of Morrisons. Simply go to the customer service desk and ask for "Sandy" or a "period product pack". You'll be given a discreet brown envelope containing two sanitary towels without any further questions or any charge.

And as Twitter user @frankiesnotaboy noted this week, people in Ireland can access free sanitary products in a similar way by signing up for the Lidl Plus app.