This is how the government will end period poverty in the UK

This comes after a lengthy campaign to end period poverty in Britain

Last year we spoke to Amika George, an 18-year-old A-Level student who founded the #FreePeriods campaign.

The campaign began when George noticed that many young women in the UK struggle to be able to afford sanitary products – a basic need for women on their period.

Yesterday, the government announced that tampon tax funding will go towards ending period poverty for the first time.

Tracey Crouch, the minister for sport and civil society, said thousands of women across the UK, including those in poverty, will benefit from the estimated £15 million generated from tampon tax.

Crouch added: "The money generated from sanitary products is being invested in good causes that tackle the serious issues that women of all ages face. It will be used to support vulnerable women and girls and help build a Britain fit for the future.”

George has described the announcement as ‘incredible’ news and thanked the 157,000 people who signed her petition to end period poverty in the UK.

The student previously told the Standard: “I had absolutely no idea that it was happening in the UK, that girls as young as 10 were routinely missing school because they weren’t able to access protection.

“It seemed abhorrent to me that there were children creating almost primitive, makeshift solutions such as socks stuffed with stolen toilet paper, or newspaper and I was disgusted that no help was being given to them.

“These children would face enormous anxiety while sitting in lessons, fearful that they’d bled onto their uniform, so the easiest solution was often simply to miss school. It was clear to me that missing lessons means falling further behind in academic progress, and these children find they are such a long way off from attaining their goals and ambitions, all because they bleed.”

In December, George even organised a rally in Parliament Square that saw the likes of Daisy Lowe and Aboah Adwoa attend – and it seems the government listened.

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