As of Friday 2nd September, the first stage of my manifesto priority has been completed.

Free period products have been put into 18 toilets on the Penryn campus, as well as 16 toilets on the Falmouth campus. This includes female, male, disabled and gender-neutral toilets!

This is just the first step to getting period products into all the toilets on Penryn and Falmouth campuses, as some spaces do not have adequate space to house these products. To combat this, FXPlus will be installing shelving and other storage units where the menstrual products can sit without getting soggy or ruined.

This next step may take longer but will hopefully be completed by Christmas time. I will keep you updated via the website, blog posts and social media but I am always more than happy for you to come into the office for a verbal update!

The reason this was such a high priority for me, is due to the incoming cost of living crisis that is about to affect everyone. Worldwide, 1.2 billion women lack access to basic sanitation.[1] By providing free period products, we can reduce this number and provide support to everyone who menstruates. This puts more money back into the pockets of students!

As mentioned above, the period products are not just being put into the female toilets but are being put everywhere! This is important as we recognise that it is not just female-identifying students who need to have access to these products.

By being inclusive with the toilets the products can be found in, we hope to educate everyone on why products are needed and why they should be free for all. We thought that the campaign name of We Bleed really highlights the fact that periods and menstruation shouldn’t be a topic considered taboo, as well as educating.

My next step is to look into the period products that are on offer within the campus shop. I would love to hear student feedback on this topic so I can take it forward to the relevant contacts within FXPlus.

Get in contact by emailing me at k.orchard@thesu.org.uk or popping into the Students’ Union office. Let me know your opinions on the brands the campus shop sells, the sustainability of the products, the amount and variance of products, or anything else you would like to have your voice heard about.

[1] https://www.sustainabilityexchange.ac.uk/files/period_poverty_in_universities_and_colleges_6.pdf