Millions of women, girls and people who menstruate suffer with severe period pain and heavy bleeding that disrupts their lives.

Instead of getting the treatment and support they desperately need, they’re often dismissed and told it’s “Just a period”.

Almost all (97%) of the girls we surveyed experience painful periods, with over 42% experiencing severe pain. The impact on their lives is significant. 20% of girls said their period leaves them ‘bed-bound’ and unable to do anything, and 11% of girls said their period makes them feel like life isn’t worth living.

59% of women and girls have taken time off school/college/university in relation to their period.

This is unacceptable. 

Nobody should suffer from period symptoms holding them back.

We want to educate and empower girls and women to be in control of their menstrual health from their first period to their last. By knowing what a ‘normal period’ is, they can recognise when they need more help and have the confidence to advocate for their care. 82% of the women and girls we surveyed agreed that there needs to be more accurate and accessible information available on periods.

We would like to see:

• Better menstrual health education in schools, with interactive workshops and peer support groups that are age appropriate, informative and include all pupils.
• A public health campaign on menstrual health and period problems for teens and young women, with a focus on reaching and supporting women from deprived and marginalised communities.
• Girls and women routinely asked about their periods when seen by health care professionals at existing touchpoints, such as vaccinations, contraceptive advice and general health checks.
• More funding for menstrual health research to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of period problems and other gynaecological conditions.

We want to ensure that menstrual health never prevents girls and women from reaching their potential and enables them to thrive.

Periods and work

A recent CIPD survey showed that two-thirds of women experience a negative impact at work due to menstruation symptoms and more than half had been unable to go into work at some point due to their symptoms.

We’re calling for all workplaces to adopt a women’s health policy to help employees deal with menstruation and the menopause whilst at work. Join our campaign now and we’ll keep you informed about our next steps for progress on periods at work.

Besins Healthcare, Gedeon Richter, GSK, Hologic, and Theramex have contributed funding towards this campaign. They have not been involved in its development in any form.