“You cannot opt out of periods”

Thursday 21 January 2021

Access to free period products should not be means-tested or rely on a “bureaucratic system”, an anti-period poverty campaigner has said, after the Social Security Minister refused to commit to making them free over a lack of data.

Nearly 2,000 islanders signed Jasmine Eisha Beaumont's petition, which aimed to make menstrual products accessible to those who may not be able to afford them, triggering a response from Deputy Judy Martin.

The Minister said she believes “everybody should be able to access safe and hygienic menstrual products and recognises the dignity that this affords."

Pictured: Deputy Judy Martin, the Minister for Social Security.

While welcoming the petition, she said she couldn’t commit to following the approach recently taken in Scotland to make all period products free, “without a better understanding of the situation in Jersey”.

“Whilst there is some anecdotal evidence which suggests there may be barriers to access and wellbeing in Jersey, we need to know more if we are to properly understand the issue and meet needs,” Deputy Martin said. “We must also consider the potential provision of period products alongside existing arrangements for other essential items.” 

But for Steffy Bechelet, one of the volunteers for The Red Box Project Jersey - a national community project to help end period poverty by providing red boxes filled with free period products to local schools - data is not going to provide any solution.  

Pictured: The Red Box Project does not believe access to free period products should only be for women who claim income support.

“We have not done any data collection, we know the products are used and that is good enough,” she said. “Saying the solution lies in needing numbers that is like saying, 'We do not know how many people need the food bank, so should we have a food bank?'

“In addition, something we feel strongly about is that access to period products should not be based on people accessing income support. We want to remove stigma and remove shame, because no one should be embarrassed to ask for these products and we know some people are embarrassed.

“So, the thought of someone already applying for income support, where there is also a stigma, and then having to fill in a form to ask for period products, it’s completely inappropriate and really reductive.” 

As Steffy explained, relying on income support to provide free period products could rule out women who have not been in the island for five years and thus cannot access income support, as well as those who do not have enough money to live but do not meet the threshold for Income support. In addition, women are vulnerable for many reasons, not all of which are linked to money.  

“We know people cannot access period products, it might be because of financial reasons, for cultural reasons, someone might be living in a family where people do not talk about periods,” Steffy said.

“There needs to be a solution that suits everyone, it will take a lot of thinking. The more bureaucracy forms and process people will have to through, the more barriers there will be in place for to access the products. 

“We need an equitable solution so that people can access the products they need without feeling shame or stigma without having to jump through hoops in a bureaucratic system."

While the Red Box Project has been successful in the island, thanks to the efforts of volunteers and the support of the community - who “recognise and understand that it is something that should be provided, especially in education settings” - Steffy does not believe it is sustainable. 

Pictured: “First and foremost, we need free period products in schools then the tax removed,” Steffy said.

“If a biological issue impacted the other half of the population, we would always champion that,” she said. “This is not about being a feminist, this is about equality.”

“First and foremost, we need free period products in schools then the tax removed,” she added.

“Beyond that, we believe all period products should free for everyone who needs it without having to fill in a form because you cannot opt out of periods.

“It is feasible and it is doable. Other countries with far less stable economic structured have implemented it because they see it as essential in moving towards equality.

“We stop asking questions that are not finding a solution. Jersey is the last British island to not remove the tax. There is no reason we cannot match what is being done elsewhere.”