Marginalised groups in 2014 have so many more rights and freedoms than those only a few decades ago. Everyone can vote, manage their own form of contraception and, for the most part, experience equality in the workplace. However, one thing has not changed; people still get periods and still have to pay for something they cannot avoid.

Why is it that contraception (specifically condoms), nicotine patches, abortions and even housing is paid for by the government, but menstrual products are not? Tampons and towels are still officially classified as 'luxuries' and are taxed at 5%, whereas men's razors are considered 'essentials' and are VAT free. Smoking, shaving and use of contraceptives are all personal choices, yet having a uterus isn't a decision half the country's population has any control over.

The average person spends approximately £6 per 28-day cycle on sanitary products - that's more than £77 per year. The average age for a someone to start their period is 12 and a half, and the average age for menopause to start is 51: this means that the average British citizen (with a uterus) is spending more than £3000* in their lifetime on their biological structure - enough to buy a car!

There have been campaigns in the past to bring down the VAT on sanitary products, but this just is not enough. The companies who make these products will just keep pushing their prices up and up, because they can. There is never going to be a shortage of customers for pads or tampons, because there is never going to be a shortage of healthy bodies in this country - or the world! Furthermore, it is impossible to reduce the tax on anything in the UK to less than 5% without going through the EU. The most obvious solution to this problem would be to provide menstrual products free through the NHS to anyone who needs them.

Therefore, the government has a duty to those who menstruate, as it does to the drug addicts, alcoholics and smokers they provide free treatment for: menstrual sanitary products should be distributed by the government free of charge as an alternative to those who need them. There should be a range of shapes and sizes, like over-priced brands offer us, but no evidence of marketing. The same way that they provide standard issue condoms, they should provide standard issue sanitaryware for those who need it. It is important to note also that it is not only those who actually use these products who pay for them - many husbands, boyfriends and fathers also fall victim to the exploitation of our anatomies. This petition is for them, too.

Those with well-paid jobs may not mind splashing out on a bit of extra quality, and so the over-priced giants, such as Always and Tampax, may continue to exist; but now at least we would be given the choice between spending thousands of pounds...or not.

FAQs

But surely if you’re asking for free sanitary products, next you’ll be asking for free toilet paper, food, deodorant…?

Some may argue that this would cause things to get out of control, and next everyone would be asking for the ‘essentials’ needed for unobstructed life in modern society. This is absolutely not the case and is not the basis of this cause - toilet paper and deodorant, firstly, are simply not essentials. You can leave the house, get a job and have a socially acceptable lifestyle without ever using toilet paper or deodorant - the the same is not true concerning menstrual products. It is impossible to earn a living outside of the comfort of your home when you have blood running down your leg, not to mention the even further expenses you would have to fork out for new bed sheets/chair covers each month. As for the food and water issue - these necessities are already available from the government in the form of benefits for those who cannot afford to buy them. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain free food and water from various charities and shelter schemes - the essentials to physically remain alive are always available, but this one aspect of menstrual necessity has been completely overlooked. We aspire to raise awareness of this fact.

If everyone gets free sanitaryware, the private market will collapse and our economy will fail even more than it has done already!

Our aim is not to nationalise all sanitary product brands. We merely think that as a fundamental human right, people should have access to a basic, standard-issue form of sanitaryware as an alternative to branded products. Durex was sold in 2010 for £2.54bn, showing that although a free version of their product is provided by the government, they still have a huge market for their products. This could be the case for sanitary items. The primary reason for the provision of free contraceptives is to save expense for the NHS by reducing the spread of STDs, and we understand this - the basis of our cause is that from a moral point of view, this captive target market should not be exploited in this way by these vastly over-expensive brands.

How do you propose this scheme would be paid for?

This petition is not an economic one, but a moral one. We aim to raise awareness of the issue and do more than eliminate VAT on sanitary products; we want the government to provide a version that is 100% free - so that the choice is there. Those who have well paid, secure jobs may well choose to continue paying thousands to these companies for the sake of extra luxury, but for those to whom more than £3000 would go a long way, having that option could improve their quality of life considerably. So the governmentshould find space in their budget to pay for this movement, as there is strong evidence to suggest that they will not be paying for a lifetime supply of sanitary products for the entire female population of Britain - just those who want it.

Are you petitioning for free sanitary products worldwide, or just the UK?

Although presently our core arguments only apply to the injustice in the British NHS with regard to the distribution of ‘essential’ items, FreeTheP will not rest until menstrual products are free for all those who need them worldwide. If this movement is passed in the UK, surely other countries will proceed to do the same in a matter of time? However at the moment, we are just taking small steps at a time.

Surely your time would be better spent campaigning for something worthwhile in other countries, like women’s rights in the middle east?

I absolutely support any efforts to fight against the oppression in the middle east. However, their suffering does not invalidate this cause simply by comparison - luckily, in the digital age we are able to fight more than one battle at once. This campaign only takes up a few hours of our spare time a week, and costs us no money at all; our activism in this subject area is not depriving other charities of resources that would otherwise be donated to their own causes.

How can I contact you?

Email: freetheperiod@gmail.com

Instagram: @freethep

Twitter: @freetheperiod

Further reading: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/we-need-to-talk-about-periods-9638267.html

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/11/free-tampons-cost-feminine-hygiene-products?commentpage=1

http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/2013/11/equal-pay/

*Pads

From boots.com Always regular (purple) ultra-pads:

pack of 12 for £2.09 = £0.17 per pad

The average British consumer:

Average pads used per day of cycle = 7

Average length of cycle = 6 days

Average pads used per cycle = 42

Cycle spending on pads: £7.14

Average spending on pads per year: (7.14 x 13) = £92.82

Average spending on pads per lifetime: (92.82 x 38.5) = £3573.57

This is not including spending on night pads, extra day pads or pant liners – calculations only based on if they bought medium/average sized pads.

Tampons

From boots.com Tampax regular tampons:

pack of 40 for £5.69 = £0.14 per tampon

The average British consumer:

Average tampons used per day of cycle = 8

Average length of cycle = 6 days

Average tampons used per cycle = 48

Cycle spending on tampons = £6.72

Average spending on tampons per year: (6.72 x 13) = £87.36

Average spending on tampons per lifetime: (87.36 x 38.5) = £3363.36

These calculations are not taking into consideration how most use a combination of tampons/pads during their cycle – these figures therefore may vary from case to case, but the fact of the matter is that whatever mixture is chosen, the amount spent on these products will reach into the thousands.