Link to this page: https://secure.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/1112/31683
From The Socialist newspaper, 2 December 2020
Scotland: Campaign wins end to period poverty
Lynda McEwan, Socialist Party Scotland
In a first of its kind globally, the Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Act was enshrined into law in Scotland on 24 November, laying the foundations for eradicating period poverty for Scottish women.
Following a four-year campaign by Labour's Member of the Scottish Parliament Monica Lennon, backed by trade unions, student unions and women's campaigns, the act will place a legal duty on local authorities to make period products available to all.
One-in-four school, college and university girls, women and trans people, stated they have struggled to access period products, and 10% said they were unable to afford them pre-Covid.
The pandemic has massively increased this problem as colleges and universities closed and many women, particularly low-paid working-class women, lost their jobs, faced eviction, and grassroots organisations struggled to provide an effective service.
Women spend, on average, £13 a month on period products. The alleviation of this gendered burden will have a significant impact not only financially, but physically and mentally as well.
Importantly, the act will include promoting education to end the stigma surrounding menstruation. This has, encouragingly, opened up discussion about menopause, endometriosis and product sustainability.
The cost of this scheme is estimated to be around £8.7 million a year. Initially opposed to the scheme, the Scottish National Party (SNP) government was ridiculed for suggesting "cross-border tampon raids" would follow its implementation into law. It was finally forced into a U-turn as the campaign gathered more support.
The SNP and Scottish Labour's refusal to fight Tory cuts, despite standing on anti-austerity platforms has seen brutal cuts to council budgets across Scotland, with severe and detrimental effects for women and girls; 250,000 Scottish children live in poverty.
This concession has to be seen in the context of how much they've cut women's vital services to the bone, including social work services in my deprived area, West Dunbartonshire.
SNP and Labour refusal to defy Tory cuts means that the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition will be standing in the Scottish elections next May on a platform of implementing no-cuts budgets and fully funding services.
The free period products victory should be welcomed, but all the social problems of inequality still exist, so we should fight on.
This law should now be built upon and pushed to be implemented across the rest of Britain. A mass campaign could force the weak and divided Tory government to follow the successful implementation in Scotland, ending period poverty for all.
Donate to the Socialist Party
Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
In The Socialist 2 December 2020:
What we think
Spending Review. Unions must resist return to austerity
Spending Review
What will the spending review mean for me?
Napo kickstarts fight against pay freeze
News
Better for billionaires. Worse for workers
Arcadia and Debenhams closures: Nationalise to save jobs and pensions
Scotland: Campaign wins end to period poverty
NHS: Underfunded, understaffed, underpaid
Devolution
Workplace News
Don't let the festive season be one of misery for retail workers
Equity union conference calls for radical change - now lead a fight!
Solidarity with Brighton UCU strike - we won't pay for Covid crisis
East London teachers strike in support of victimised union rep
Heathrow workers strike against 'fire and rehire' plans
Hackney: Stop plan to halve school support staff!
Pay freeze protest Homerton Hospital
Unison general secretary ballot closes
Environment
'Building back greener' - yet more Tory greenwash
International News
Marxism
Review: Friedrich Engels - Condition of the working class in England
Campaigns
Wales TUSC plans to mount an electoral challenge
Rent strikers' victory in Manchester student halls
Labour meeting lets MP get away with 'Spycops' abstention
Reader's opinion
Fast fashion, big profits, low pay
Diego Maradona - Working-class rebel, football genius
Home | The Socialist 2 December 2020 | Join the Socialist Party
Subscribe | Donate | Audio | PDF | ebook