Sinn Fein councillor Sandra Duffy has been supporting #FreePeriod for young women
The new research has found that nearly half of teenage girls across Ireland are struggling to afford sanitary products during their period.
A survey of more than 1,100 young women aged between 12-19 years shows that nearly 50 per cent of Irish teenage girls find it difficult to afford sanitary towels and tampons, according to Plan International.
Some 109 of the young women who participated in the survey said they were forced to use a “less suitable sanitary product” because of the high monthly cost involved.
Nearly 60 per cent of young women said they did not find classes at school on periods helpful while six out of ten reported feeling shame and embarrassment about their period.
A small number said they believed they could lose their virginity by using a tampon, while others did not think it was possible to become pregnant while on their period.
Some 61 per cent of Irish girls have missed school because of their period and more than 80 per cent said they did not feel comfortable talking about their periods with their father or a teacher. Nearly 70 per cent take some form of pain relief during menstruation.
Cllr Duffy, who has been leading a campaign on this locally, said: “This is shocking but the findings don’t surprise me.
“Since I started to raise the #FreePeriod campaign locally I have been contacted by teachers, youth workers and young girls who I would meet on a daily basis in my work as a councillor, all have told me how real this problem is.
“Just this week I have had a very positive meeting with Derry City and Strabane District Council to discuss period poverty and what positive actions we could be taking as a council area to address this issue and support our women and girls.
“I believe we can do something to move this campaign forward it had its first major success when in Scotland a number of young female football supporters persuaded Celtic Football Club to take the initiative to be one of the first clubs to offer the facility to provide free sanitary products at their stadium from next season.
“In the coming months I will continue to meet with as many groups as possible to try and get people to buy into supporting the #FreePeriod campaign.
“And at the same time bringing about practical ways it can be both supported and implemented here in as many public buildings as possible.
“Our young women cannot continue to be disadvantaged in this way, these items which are essentials not luxury and should be freely available.
“These are our daughters and sisters and they should not be made feel ashamed of what is a natural part of being female,” she added.
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