15-fold increase in need for period products highlights why we need to tackle period poverty - the YEP says

And so many of the people who affected by the pandemic were already those hidden voices, who were struggling before the crisis swept the country.

Today charities in Leeds have revealed a “worrying” rise in the “hidden issue” of period poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic, as requests for help have increased 15-fold since lockdown began.

As families across the city struggle financially in the economic fall-out of the crisis, more women and girls than ever before are finding it difficult to meet the cost of period products.

One family told the Yorkshire Evening Post how they were forced to improvise with toilet paper and fabric at the start of lockdown.

It is heartbreaking to think this is happening in our city.

And it’s even more worrying that the war on period poverty still has an element of taboo attached to it.

We need to end this stigma and talking about it is a good start.

Period.

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