I’m getting Oxford to tackle period poverty – why can’t other cities do the same?

36 per cent of girls aged 14-21 in the UK struggled to afford or access period products during the Covid pandemic, writes Rosie Rawle

That’s £4,800 just to manage a basic biological process (Getty Images)

In the ashes of the financial crash, the UK has faced the longest squeeze on living standards since the Napoleonic wars. Every extra expense really does hit people hard, and one of those we really should be talking about more is the cost of having a period.

£4,800. That’s how much the average person who menstruates has to spend on period products in their lifetime. That’s £4,800 just to manage a basic biological process. And it’s £4,800 that many people just cannot afford.

All of this is why on 18 July, I and other Green Party city councillors proposed a motion to Oxford City Council to provide free period products in public toilets, the Town Hall and community centres. It was passed unanimously, meaning that, in the coming weeks and months, the council will begin working with period poverty charities and organisations in our city to roll out this universal provision.