Too poor to buy sanitary towels

JupiterKid

I was on a UK web discussion forum this afternoon and there was a thread about situations where teenage girls weren't going to school because their parents couldn't afford to buy them sanitary towels. Are sanitary towels that expensive? I'm a man and I've no clue but I would have thought that they were a basic necessity, like toothpaste and bog roll.

Quite a few posters on the thread opined that it was a case of bad parenting with some parents prioritising booze and cigs over their daughters' basic needs but one or two posters said that poverty in Britain was so bad for some these days that yes, it was very possible.

Thoughts? And would it happen here?

Stigura

JupiterKid wrote: »

some parents prioritising booze and cigs over their daughters' basic needs.

" To either cut down on beer or the kid's new gear ~ It's a big decision in a town called malice ".

JupiterKid

JupiterKid wrote: »

I was on a UK web discussion forum this afternoon and there was a thread about situations where teenage girls weren't going to school because their parents couldn't afford to buy them sanitary towels. Are sanitary towels that expensive? I'm a man an I've no clue but I would have bought that they were a basic necessity, like toothpaste and bog roll.

Quite a few posters on the thread opined that it was a case of bad parenting with some parents prioritising booze and cigs over their daughters' basic needs but one or two posters said that poverty in Britain was so bad for some these days that yes, it was very possible.

Thoughts? And would it happen here?

There are people who can't spare the money for even the cheapest own brand products in the Western world today. Sometimes it's because they can barely afford to put food on the table - and to some toothpaste is a luxury - and sometimes it's because of chaotic drink/drug abuse by the adults leading to neglect of the children.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 10 girls who attend school will have to miss it during menstruation as they have no choice other than 'freebleeding'.

hawkelady

Popcorn and a big grin ...

Ridiculous stuff

the_pen_turner

Candie wrote: »

There are people who can't spare the money for even the cheapest own brand products in the Western world today. Sometimes it's because they can barely afford to put food on the table - and to some toothpaste is a luxury - and sometimes it's because of chaotic drink/drug abuse by the adults leading to neglect of the children.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 10 girls who attend school will have to miss it during menstruation as they have no choice other than 'freebleeding'.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

Cupcake_Crisis

Can you not get free feminine hygiene products in family planning clinics?

Tbh, they should be free. Or at the very least tax free. The "pink tax" can ask me arse.

Lady is a tramp

God the parents would have to be awfully disorganised to allow that to happen. I mean, surely it costs less to buy them (e.g. in a pound shop or wherever) than to have the girls bleeding through all their clothes/undies at home?!

There are other options too like reusable cloth towels, or mooncups, which presumably work out cheaper in the long run.

And I would imagine their local public health services wouldn't leave them stuck if they approached them and explained the situation. I mean, it's unhygienic, and horrible for the girls involved, if it's true.

BlinkingLights

There have been fairly swinging cuts to social welfare over there.

For example if you'd a single parent who was unemployed, you could quite easily find they had been sanctioned (dole cut) over some arbitrary minor breech of agreement with the local Job Centre and that can leave some people going without.

I'm not saying that people should be permanently welfare dependent but under the Tory changes the UK has a situation developing where being in very serious poverty is now very definitely possible, and that's without someone opting to service debts or do something silly with welfare payments.

You can literally be cut off.

The direction the UK is headed is not good.

freshpopcorn

hawkelady wrote: »

Popcorn and a big grin ...

Ridiculous stuff

I'm here!

nosilver

Yes. Poverty in parts of Britain is appalling. Social welfare system is third world.

Basic social welfare is about €85 for over 25's, children's allowances are about €23 for 1st child and €16 for other children.

Here jobseeker is €193, children's allowance is €33 per week.

Uk and USA are the two places you don't want to be if you are unemployed

Zaph

Cupcake_Crisis wrote: »

Can you not get free feminine hygiene products in family planning clinics?

Tbh, they should be free. Or at the very least tax free. The "pink tax" can ask me arse.

They are tax free in this country and have been for years. That the myth still persists that they are not simply because they are taxed in other countries is an enduring mystery to me.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

nosilver wrote: »

Yes. Poverty in parts of Britain is appalling. Social welfare system is third world.

Basic social welfare is about €85 for over 25's, children's allowances are about €23 for 1st child and €16 for other children.

Here jobseeker is €193, children's allowance is €33 per week.

Uk and USA are the two places you don't want to be if you are unemployed

Or the arguement could be made that our system is FAR FAR too generous.

JupiterKid

Candie wrote: »

In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 10 girls who attend school will have to miss it during menstruation as they have no choice other than 'freebleeding'.

I can well believe it. Africa has the highest levels of absolute poverty in the world. But in the UK in 2017? Something sounds amiss here.

Apparently food banks ask for sanitary items like loo roll, sanitary towels and toothpaste. In this day and age people shouldn't have to go without these items.

I suspect that households with addiction problems might have these sort of problems, where all the available money is going towards drink, drugs and gambling.

the_pen_turner

of all the poor families in my area I think only 2 are actually genuinely on the bread line. ironically neither would look for or accept help to them.
the rest are poor by choice , be it drink or drugs, or just buying stupid cap they don't need. there never seamed to be a shortage of money down the pub or in the bookies. but they never have money at the till in the local supermarket

BlinkingLights

I've a sense Britain is going to "snap" at some stage over the next few years. Things are going far too far right wing and the majority of the population doesn't really swing that way.

The issue in Ireland isn't that welfare is insufficient. We have a good safety net when it's accessed but, you get people who fall through the cracks by not applying at all either due to pride, inability to do it (depression, cognitive issues, social skills not there etc).

The other huge issue here is people will sometimes service debts before buying food and basics. Then the basics come from charity or not at all.

The application process is still too complicated. They need to make it much more straight forward and ensure that those cases are picked up. Nobody should be depending on charities to feed themselves in this state. No matter what their circumstances.

There is also a difficulty of not having a proper bankruptcy process, still! Despite everything... It's still very cumbersome and not understood very well by a lot of people.

nosilver

Hunky Monster wrote: »

Or the arguement could be made that our system is FAR FAR too generous.

In a way, yes, but the other side is the hidden cost of abject poverty - poor education, poor heath, high crime levels, poor integration into society.

Noddyholder

Didn't Tesco not give them out in December for free, or was that just for the Christmas period...











I going now.

Barry Badrinath

The OSDF was set up in the Thatcher era to provide feminine hygiene alternatives to working class folk.

If you, as a more well off person, volunteered to the Odd Sock Donation Fund you were eligible for tax relief.

The odd socks plugged the gap so to speak.

Stigura

JupiterKid wrote: »

In this day and age people shouldn't have to go without these items.

Weller released " Malice " in '82.

The tories are ~ and always have been ~ basically searching for the final solution to the unproductive.

SCOOP 64

Hunky Monster wrote: »

Or the arguement could be made that our system is FAR FAR too generous.

Wow didnt see that coming!

dev100

nosilver wrote:

Basic social welfare is about €85 for over 25's, children's allowances are about €23 for 1st child and €16 for other children.Here jobseeker is €193, children's allowance is €33 per week.Uk and USA are the two places you don't want to be if you are unemployed Yes. Poverty in parts of Britain is appalling. Social welfare system is third world.

It will end up that way here eventually too. We copy everything from the Brit's and we seem to be following the health care model from the US .

Dial Hard

BlinkingLights wrote:

There have been fairly swinging cuts to social welfare over there.

Sanitary towels and tampons are also subject to VAT in the UK whereas they're zero-rated here.

Cupcake_Crisis

Zaph wrote: »

They are tax free in this country and have been for years. That the myth still persists that they are not simply because they are taxed in other countries is an enduring mystery to me.

I meant more so where I am now. In Toronto 1 pack of pads can cost up to $10!

whoopsadoodles

I know some schools here have a basket or whatever in the girls bathrooms from 5th class up. Not sure if it's the standard thing though.

STs can be gotten for a pound and a pack would likely last the average teenage girl's week each month. So £1 a month. It's pretty upsetting to think they can't afford that.

BlinkingLights

Dial Hard wrote: »

Sanitary towels and tampons are also subject to VAT in the UK whereas they're zero-rated here.

Am I right in thinking we charge VAT on condoms though?!

Richard Hillman

Sorry, I am uninitiated in terms of these issues but could you not just ram a clump of toilet roll or tissue up there?

Zaph

Cupcake_Crisis wrote: »

I meant more so where I am now. In Toronto 1 pack of pads can cost up to $10!

That's outrageous. It's a basic necessity for half the population, and while I don't necessarily agree that they should be free, except for those who genuinely can't afford it, could you imagine the uproar if they started charging those sort of prices for other basic necessities like bread or milk?

BlinkingLights

Not unless you wanted to die of toxic shock, no you couldn't

freshpopcorn

They sell them in £ Land in the UK for a £. A packet should last you a while.


http://www.poundland.co.uk/health-and-beauty/toiletries/feminine-hygiene

Lisha

It's always worth mentioning that homeless shelters, Simon, food banks etc will always take donations of sanitary products.
Tooth brushes, tooth paste, baby wipes, razors, deodorant as well as feminine sanitary products are essentials needed by homeless people.

It's fairly shocking that children attending school would not have access to basic sanitary products. Hard to know how we can fix it TBH.

BlinkingLights

Biggest issue potentially coming down the tracks in the UK is a major slide in the value of £ after Article 50 is declared and things start to get weird with market access.

A lot of basic consumer products and energy are going to increase in price as they are not purchased in £ in reality.

That's got the potential to push people into food poverty that are on the edge right now.