A community wide approach to 'Period Positivity'

 

Funded by the Crediton Hospital League of Friends, this research project links up Queen Elizabeth's Community College Crediton with local feeder primary schools.

It is a response to a report by  Plan International UK

 https://plan-uk.org/girls-rights-in-the-uk/break-the-barriers-our-menstrual-manifesto

 Some key findings:

48% of girls in the UK feel embarrassed by their period

 27% of girls in the UK have overused a sanitary product because they couldn’t afford a fresh one

 49% of girls in the UK have missed an entire day of school because of their period

Girls and women are disadvantaged in their education, careers and personal lives because of their natural reproductive functions.  This project will use peer-to-peer interactions to tackle the three themes of: Stigma and taboo; Education about your body; Understanding and access to appropriate period products.

Year 12 students will go into five local feeder primary schools and run highly participatory and interactive sessions. This is a challenging area to talk about, so QECC students' ideas will be developed to make the sessions fun and engaging. The subject will be approached mainly as part of relationships education as a way of introducing relevant science/medical understandings. Sessions will involve: some physical play and exercises; learning about puberty and menstruation using practical, problem solving activities; using drama and role-play to build strategies helpful in managing menstruation through better understanding, communication and relationships.

Laura Coryton, formerly of QECC, mounted a successful UK and Europe wide campaign to remove VAT (Tampon Tax)  from period products and this latest project from Apause project represents a tradition spanning nearly thirty years of innovation and research in Relationships Education in Crediton's Community College.

If you are a young person living in the area, and want to be involved please contact me, David Evans, through email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone. 07812561123

You will be fully suported through training, transportation, in the classroom and with generous expenses.