ICYMI, us gals have been on a mission to stop tampons - y'know, those super soaker-uppers that are kind of a monthly necessity - from being classed as a luxury item. And ladies, last week we finally took one step forward.
At the NUS annual conference last week, representatives for the organisation voted in favour of using part of the NUS budget to provide free tampons for female students on campus. Yes, female students, who struggle to afford meals that aren't beans and cheese, will now be offered free sanitary products including tampons and pads.
Birmingham University student Izzy Lenga spoke at the conference last week, and stressed the effects of the tampon tax on those in higher education: "Students are left asking whether their period will affect their bank balance or their health... The price of tampons is not just sexist, it's classist."
In March it was discovered that girls from lower income families were skipping school because they can't afford sanitary products. One student, who started her period aged 11, told BBC Radio Leeds that she had to tape toilet roll to her underwear and missed school every month because she didn't have adequate access to sanitary products.
“I wrapped a sock around my underwear just to stop the bleeding, because I didn't want to get shouted at," she said. "I once Sellotaped tissue to my underwear. I didn't know what else to do."
Universities in America are already hot on the trend of providing their students with sanitary-wear, with colleges like Brown and the University of Minnesota stocking gender-neutral bathrooms in an effort to be all inclusive. Universities in the UK, such as Birmingham and East Anglia already offer free tampons, but this new vote means the policy will now be rolled out across the entirety of the UK. It's raining tamps ya'll!
What do you think of this news? Let us know! @sofeminineUK
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