WOMEN are trying to break the ‘taboo’ of talking about periods in a bid to end period poverty.

Blackburn-based group FemCura has launched an initiative to raise awareness of period poverty.

The term relates to women being unable to afford to buy sanitary products.

The initiative comes after Blackburn with Darwen Council members heard the issue has stopped some females going to school or work.

Councillors said women aged between 14 and 21 were particularly affected and urged people to donate sanitary products to Blackburn Foodbank.

Now community interest company FemCura is working with schools and businesses in Blackburn to provide schoolgirls and women as old as 50 with free sanitary towels.

The group is led by partners Jess and Danni Whitehead, who visit schools including St Wilfrid’s High School, Blackburn, to educate young girls on periods, provide free products, and raise awareness of period poverty.

Jess said: “There is no other group in Blackburn doing this, and we want to break the taboo of talking about periods, because it’s such a natural thing.”

“It’s not just about providing the free sanitary towels, but some of these women just want to talk.

“Maybe they’ve just had a baby or are going through some things.

“After delivering the products, they feel like they have someone there.”

The pair will host a ‘Paint your period night’ on December 15 at the Erin Gift Shop in Darwen where a uterus will be made out of tiles. Women will have the chance to paint tiles before they go to help complete a mural displayed at the shop.

Jess and Danni Whitehead are also part of 48-year-old Sarah Subhani’s Blackburn Women’s Forum, which supports the FemCura initiative. The forum is a group dedicated to encouraging social cohesion among women of different backgrounds. FemCura gain donations by working with communities and businesses in Blackburn.

Jess said: “A lot of people told us they cannot afford the sanitary towels they need. We provide a bag enough for one cycle, with an information leaflet.”

Statistics from girls’ rights charity Plan International UK show the extent of period poverty in the UK among girls and women aged 14-21. According to their figures, one in ten has been unable to afford sanitary wear and one in seven girls (15 per cent) has struggled to afford sanitary wear.

One in seven has had to ask for sanitary wear from a friend due to affordability issues. More than one in ten has had to improvise sanitary wear due to affordability issues. One in five has changed to a less suitable sanitary product due to cost.