Reported by -Becky Everett – Derby City Branch Delegate
Over a women’s lifetime sanitary products cost more than £5000 with women spending around £13 every month. Many women face period poverty having to choose between feeding a family and sanitary products, particularly those ladies whose family rely on food banks.
Conference welcomed that:
A) Labour reduced VAT on sanitary products from 17.5% to 5%Zero VAT rating will be introduced in 2018
B) In August 2017 Tesco became the first UK supermarket to effectively remove VAT by cutting the price of many women’s sanitary products.
C) A members bill in the Scottish Parliaments brought by MSP Monica Lennon could see a system of universal free access to sanitary items for women and girls in low income households began in 2017.
D) Labour intends to end poverty if it gets into power by handing our free sanitary products in schools, food banks and homeless shelters.
Women’s conference 2018 asks the National women’s Committee to:
1) Continue to campaign to end all poverty affecting women and girls, especially period poverty.
2) To publicise the work of organisations supporting women facing period poverty.
3) To encourage branches and women’s groups to donate to charities collecting sanitary products for women facing period poverty.
4) Work with Labour Link to support campaigns in Scotland and the wider UK to period poverty.
At conference we heard that women. Women of today are going without sanitary products to feed children. Women are using cut up towels instead of sanitary products and having to wash and reuse them. Please don’t think that this isn’t happening, it will be affecting a woman near you!
This motion was carried.
Take a moment to watch the following videos and articles which highlight the issues of Period Poverty.
