An East Renfrewshire school pupil claims girls are being 'stripped of their dignity' as they can't easily access period products.
Zara Stuart claims female youngsters at Woodfarm High School are forced to walk for a long time while bleeding to get items such as tampons and sanitary pads. The 14-year-old alleges that products can be accessed by requesting them at the school office.
Footage shows toilets at the school which appear to have no menstrual supplies available. 'Mortified' Zara recalls her period arriving early during class and the panic she endured that she would bleed through in a desperate bid to access supplies.
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She told the Daily Record: "My heart sank when it happened because I didn't have any pads. I had this horrible feeling where I knew there would be no way I could make it downstairs to the office to ask for padding and back up again to the toilet without bleeding through.
"I was panicking that it had already bled through my skirt. I was on the top floor when it happened and it was a long walk to the office to get sanitary products."
Zara's ordeal comes after a set of toilets that supplied menstrual goods were shut by staff after an incident involving vandalism in the boys' loos. The teen says it has become difficult to access pads or tampons since their closure at the start of term.
She said: "There was an incident in the boys' toilets which resulted in vandalism damages. Instead of trying to find out who had done it, they decided to lock the girls' and boys' toilets during classes, except for them being open during breaks and lunches.
"That maybe leaves one disabled toilet on the bottom floor and one gender-neutral toilet and a disabled toilet per floor. There hasn't been a sanitary product in sight in any of them.
"We are being stripped of our dignity and it leaves us feeling like they don't care."
The desperate situation led Zara to launch a campaign in favour of reopening the school toilets and supplying them with pads. So far, it has received 312 signatures.
She added: "I felt that running this petition was the only way to get them to listen to us. I know other girls are embarrassed - my friends have been in a similar situation and it's mortifying. Even having to ask office staff for sanitary products is bad. I don't feel like I should have to say when I am on my period or not.
"I don't feel comfortable going up and asking for pads, especially if there are boys in the corridor or people walking past. It's just an awful situation to be in."
Zara's mum Laura Docherty, 49, added: “I am supporting Zara because I stand with her and I do not believe young women should be asking school staff for sanitary products in this day in age. They need to consider a better system for sanitary products.
“I send my kids to school to be educated and to be nurtured and I do not feel that is happening.”
Zara's campaign comes just one month after the provision for free sanitary products in Scotland became law. The Period Products Act says obtaining the free period products should be neither 'complex nor bureaucratic'.
Under the law, items should be freely accessible from council or educational institutions - without people having to ask for them. The legislation was proposed by Labour MSP Monica Lennon after it was unanimously backed in the Scottish Parliament in 2020.
Ms Lennon said: "Limiting access to school toilets puts the health, wellbeing and dignity of children and young people at risk. All schools should have a good understanding of pupils’ health needs, including those who are menstruating or have bowel or bladder conditions.
“Having to ask for period products at the main office is not what you would expect to happen in a school that respects the rights of children and young people. Much work has been done to tackle the stigma around periods, but we know that girls can still feel embarrassed.
"I commend Zara for starting this petition and I would urge Woodfarm High to reconsider its position."
A spokesperson for East Renfrewshire Council said: "Pupils have access to sanitary products throughout the school day from a wide range of locations, including in the central street area, as has always been the case. The toilets in the street area are available for all pupils to use.
"A temporary system was introduced in an attempt to maximise teaching time in classes and minimise the opportunity for inappropriate behaviour, this has not impacted pupils’ ability to easily access sanitary products. Following recent consultation with pupils, work is also under way to introduce additional supplies of sanitary products in more toilets across the school.”
Sign Zara's petition here.
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