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WQ.85/2022
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY
BY DEPUTY C.S. ALVES OF ST. HELIER
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 7th MARCH 2022 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 14th MARCH 2022
Question
"Further to the Minister's response in December 2020 to the e-petition entitled Follow Scotland and make period products free for all' in which it was stated that she "has, therefore, asked officers to undertake further research on this issue with a view to reporting findings to the States Assembly within the term of this Government", will the Minister advise –
- what research, if any, has been conducted into period poverty since the response; and
- if research has been conducted, what data were collected and what the results were?"
Answers
- Desk-based research has been undertaken by officers to understand the approaches of other jurisdictions to this issue and the associated costs of those approaches. Discussions were also held with the Red Box Project Jersey to understand more about their work in schools.
In December 2021 a survey was sent out to schools, and promoted on social media, to better understand whether pupils were having difficulty accessing products when they needed them, and any associated impacts related to this.
- Key findings from the survey are as follows:
• Over 50% of respondents reported experiencing difficulty accessing period products.
o The main reason stated for struggling to access products was being caught short'
– not having the products on hand when needed.
o With affordability being an issue for 10% of those reporting difficulties accessing products.
• Over 10% of respondents reported missing school or college due to difficulty accessing period products when they needed them, whilst 23% of respondents reported attending school or college late, and over 25% of respondents reported leaving school or college early.
• Nearly 60% of survey respondents reported having missed an activity such as sport, socialising or a hobby etc., whilst 35% had been late to an activity, and 37% reported leaving an activity early.
• Over 60% of respondents reported feeling embarrassed as a result of having difficulty accessing products, with 60% stating they felt anxious or worried, and 50%[1] feeling unable to concentrate at school or college.
Caution must be applied in interpreting the local survey results as this was not a representative survey. As such the findings cannot be used to demonstrate the scale of the issue in Jersey, rather they reflect the views and experiences of some students who chose to respond to the survey. However, the findings do reflect the issues and challenges identified in other jurisdictions.
I will update the Assembly on the next steps for this project on the 29th March.