MORE than half of students who took part in a recent survey on period poverty reported difficulties accessing sanitary products – with 10% also admitting problems relating to affordability.
And a further 10% claimed a lack of access to period products had affected their education.
The government survey was sent out to schools at the end of last year to discover whether pupils had difficulty accessing menstrual products.
Responding to a recent States written question from St Helier Deputy Carina Alves, the Social Security Minister, Deputy Judy Martin, said that more than 50% of the 233 respondents to the survey reported difficulties accessing period products – 10% of which related to affordability.
She added: ‘Over 10% of respondents reported missing school or college due to difficulty accessing period products when they needed them, while 23% of respondents reported attending school or college late, and over 25% of respondents reported leaving school or college early.
‘Nearly 60% of survey respondents reported having missed an activity such as sport, socialising or a hobby, while 35% had been late to an activity, and 37% reported leaving an activity early.’
The survey results also showed that more than 60% of respondents felt embarrassed because they struggled to pay for period products.
A petition, which gathered 2,231 signatures, was launched in 2020 calling for Jersey to follow Scotland and make period products free for all.
Deputy Martin responded at the time by saying that she could not commit to replicating the approach in Scotland, due to a lack of understanding of individual needs in the Island. She went on to ask officers to undertake research on the issue.
Jersey is now the only place in the British Isles where these products are taxed, with the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Guernsey either never having applied such taxes or removing them.
Senator Kristina Moore recently lodged a proposition calling for Treasury Minister Susie Pinel to remove Goods and Services Tax on period products.
The report accompanying the proposition says that lower-income Islanders should not have to turn to charities to be able to access them.
Deputy Martin said she would update the Assembly on the next steps following the survey tomorrow.
In 2021, the Jersey Sustainable Period Products Project distributed 550 free washable pads to primary school students.
And, thanks to funding from Soroptimist International Jersey, each Year 6 girl on the Island will now be offered a pack containing a washable pad.
The JSPPP will also host a fundraising event at the Les Quennevais cycle track on 29 May. More details are available on the Soroptimist International Jersey Facebook page.
