Can you believe it, in 2017 ???

We often get asked why we do what we do….

The answer is plain and simple – We saw something wrong with the world and wanted to make a change.

I think that people almost expect period poverty to be a third world struggle, if the thought even enters their minds.

So it is hard to grasp the thought that women are choosing between food and sanitary items each month in the UK in 2017!! To make matters worse – young girls are missing school due to lack of provisions or relying on the kindness of teachers to provide the monthly supply.

We were further saddened by the fact that there are no provisions or funding to support homeless women on their period.

So we just knew that we needed to do something beyond sharing a post on social media or making it a water cooler discussion.

But don’t just take our word for it, click the links and read the articles below to see the stats and real life situations, choices and dilemmas that women and young girls in the UK are currently facing (today in 2017)

The Independent – Nearly half of girls do not know what is happening when they start their first period, study reveals

Girls from low-income families skipping school during periods because they can’t afford sanitary products

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Buzzzzing

Last month we sat down with Buzzfeed Reporter Fiona Rutherford to discuss our growing initiative and myth bust!

A friend once admitted that when she’s on her period, she sticks two tampons in her bra – one in each cup – as she gets dressed in the morning. She’d rather do this, she said, than get caught in the office reaching into her handbag for a tampon and taking that dreaded walk to the bathroom.

The ritual may seem extreme, but she wouldn’t be the first person with a vagina to go to such lengths to conceal sanitary items. After all, taking your entire bag to the loo just screams, “Hello! It’s that time of the month!”

So despite women feeling comfortable talking about periods with your inner circle, the “p-word” isn’t something we talk about freely in public – it’s still seen as embarrassing.

But two women have decided enough is enough – it’s 2017, periods aren’t a secret, and they’re certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

For the past year social worker Elizabeth Folarin and housing officer Karleen Jones have dedicated their spare time to creating Periodical Diary – an online platform providing “period empowerment” to young girls.

You can catch the rest of our interview here.

You can support us here.

You can meet the team in November.

#BLOOD17 – where Blood meets Art

At Periodical Diary we are obsessed with all things Blood in the name of Periods. 

We were therefore honoured to be invited to the Exhibition preview of BLOOD at the Copeland Gallery in Peckham.

It was enlightening to view blood from several different perspectives and the sociopolitical debates that are raised from the red fluid. Though blood is related so closely to science we forget to view it from an artistic lens.

This powerful exhibition allows one the space and time to interact with the concept of blood in varying platforms.

The event was hosted by the London branch of the world renowned Science Gallery who will shortly have a permanent base in London Bridge.

As period enthusiasts we were particularly taken by two pieces:

• Hotham Street Ladies’ You Beaut, a defiant answer to cock and balls graffiti, is an installation made from icing and sweets that represent menstruating uteri.

        

• Casey Jenkins’ Bad Blood is a reflection on the menstrual cycle, a subject often seen as taboo, the work will include the original 2013 large scale knitting sculpture Casting off my Womb alongside a new work created for the exhibition exploring the negative comments Casey received in response to her original sculpture on social media.

     

The exhibition runs till 1st November 2017 – we highly recommend checking it out.

For more information on all pieces that are exhibiting click here.

Have you seen the exhibition? If so let us know your take down below!

 

Periodical Diary Team xx 

 

Update: BodyForm trendsetting

Bodyform are getting national coverage as the first (we hope of many) Sanitary products company to use the real colour of blood in their campaign

We posted the groundbreaking advert on our social media a few days ago and it appears that the press have also caught wind of the change.

Click link to see the 20 second advert

Bodyform is tackling period taboo by depicting menstrual blood in their new advert.

‘We believe that like any other taboo, the more people see it, the more normal the subject becomes’

Click this link to see the full article

BodyForm take steps to “Normalise Periods”

We need to do more to normalise periods, that’s how you smash the stigma and end the shame.

Bodyform UK are doing their part by showing the true colour of blood in their advert below ….

Well done Bodyform UK!!

My dad jokes about my first period

Gary Meikle is a single dad and when his daughter got her first period he’s the person she turned to.

Click the Link to see the full article

Student’s view: Period Poverty

Today the BBC News captured the impact that the cost of sanitary products on students.

The BBC reported that one in ten girls has been unable to afford sanitary wear, according to new research from global girls rights charity Plan International UK.

We spoke to four college students about their experience.

Click this link for the full interview

November’s Donation Drive

Due to the amazing response to the last donation drive in July. We are pleased to announce we will be back at 160 Tooley Street, Southwark, London on November 22nd between 10am – 4pm.

All sanitary products welcome….. plus hand gels, feminine wipes and nappy sacks.

Come, donate and meet the Periodical Diary team.

If you are unable to come on the day, you can still donate via our GoFundMe

https://www.gofundme.com/promoting-period-empowerment

#TalkingPeriods in schools: Are we having the right conversations?

We are so pleased to be part of TOTM’S #talking periods campaign which aims to dismantle the taboos associated with periods. 

Check out our blog contribution don’t forget to like, share and comment below: 

How are we talking about periods to the younger generation? This is an important topic. What young people learn about periods in school, can affect how they manage their periods as they grow up.

We spoke to Elizabeth Folarin, co-founder of Periodical Diary to find out more about periods in education. Periodical Diary run interactive workshops in primary and secondary schools.

Are young people getting enough information?

Elizabeth is an expert in this area and here she tells us all about how schools are managing ‘the period talk’ and where there’s room for improvement…

“I remember my first ‘period talk’ in school. ‘The egg is not fertilised by sperm the lining comes away and your period will begin’ said the super-hot science supply teacher.

I was 13 and couldn’t stop cringing, I literally wanted the ground to swallow me up! The rest of the science lesson became very factual and well, ‘sciencey’. I didn’t know what the teacher was talking about but apparently what he described was going on in my body at that very moment……

You can read the rest of the submission and browse TOTM’s 100% Organic Cotton sanitary products here.

Have you signed our petition yet?

Please support our initiative here.

 

 

 

 

 

Building Our Brand

We have been extraordinary busy in the month of September!

Going into the final quarter of the 2017 we wanted to really push Periodical Diary to reach new heights and platforms to highlight an array of matters relating to Periods.

We were therefore ecstatic to learn that Dawn Butler MP of Brent and Shadow Women and Equalities Minister, is pledging that the next Labour Government will provide free sanitary products in schools and food banks. Dawn is working with Monica Lennon, Scottish Labour MSP for Central Scotland. Monica is currently running a consultation on period poverty for a Scottish Bill that will make sanitary wear free for all. We have taken part in the consultation and urge all interested parties to do so as the consultation ends on 8^th December 2017.

Period Poverty is an inequality that we believe should be eradicated.

It is fantastic that the issue of period poverty has become a key issue on the political stage, the need for such items is why we are campaigning to use the current ‘tampon tax’ to subside sanitary wear for young people – please lend us your support and sign our petition.

We are also tackling period poverty via the donation arm of our initiative, which allows us to engage with young people and families who require such items. We have built a great relationship with a London based Children’s charity, where we were able to tap into a network of schools who expressed a need for sanitary items. Using the donations we received in our summer drive, we have delivered over 1200 sanitary items or Periodical Diary Packs (PDP) (as we like to call them!) to a slew of schools in London. We are continuing to build this network and will be delivering to more schools shortly. Additionally, we have expanded our reach to a social care team that work with no recourse to public funds families such as Asylum seekers and refugees.

For those who still wish to donate we will be holding another drive later in the year till then you can support us here.

Aside from campaigning and donations we also love supporting women and organisations who are in our line of work. As CLUE (great period tracking app) Ambassadors we were excited to be invited to their first ever event held at Facebook, London. Not only was it a great networking opportunity we were able to further strengthen our knowledge on menstruation which will go into enhancing our workshops that we deliver in schools.

Moreover, we have been involved in TOTM’s (cool period subscription service) #talkingperiods campaign which aims to encourage conversation on all aspects of the menstrual cycle.

To round off this amazing month we spent an afternoon at Buzzfeed’s UK office discussing our initiative. This meeting also led us to reflect on how far we have come… thanks to support of the all our readers, followers and members of the public!!

We are fully committed to building our platform of providing period related information, support and Periodical Diary Packs.

We are looking to collaborate with brands and initiatives that fit our ethos so please feel free to get in Contact!

Many Thanks

Elizabeth and Kaye x

Periodical Diary Team

 

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