Locked Loos And Leaks At School: Students Are Facing Too Many Barriers On Their Periods

Periods are horrible to navigate at the best of times. Yet, a new report has found some menstruating pupils in schools up and down the country are unable to access toilets when theirs hit – with humiliating consequences.The report by phs Group, in partnership with global menstrual justice charity Irise International, found some schools are locking toilets, and teachers aren’t excusing students to go to the loo during lessons, leaving some learners bleeding through their uniforms.Holly, 15, from south Wales, opened up about her previous school’s inadequate and inaccessible toilet facilities, and described how the block where the toilets were located would often be locked.“If the toilets are locked when you have a period, you’re in trouble,” said the teenager, who is now homeschooled.“When I was in Year 7, a friend of mine bled through her uniform. She had to walk with a teacher the whole way through the school to a different block to get products and change, it was horrible.”Why are school toilets staying locked?Holly understands there are reasons why the toilets were frequently locked. “A lot of students are in the toilets vaping, or they stay in there after the break to try to skip the next lesson and that’s what teachers are worried about,” she said.When probed about why toilet access was restricted, a poll of teachers by phs and Irise found concerns over vaping tops the list (48%).Teachers also cited truancy (46%), a belief that students are lying about needing to relieve themselves (33%), vandalism (27%) and bullying or assaults (27%).The same poll found two in three students (65%) are unable to access toilets at their school freely at any time. Almost a third (29%) need permission from a teacher to leave the classroom and 15% require a pass to be issued.One in 20 teachers (5%) reported school toilets being locked at some point during the school day, including break times, with 4% saying they were shut all the time. Meanwhile, one in six teachers (16%) said they’d prevented a student who has periods from using the bathroom during class. When pressed on the reasons why, they believed learners merely wanted to skip lessons (39%) or meet friends (34%).Yet one quarter (26%) reported an issue after denying access to the loo, such as pupils bleeding through uniforms.Free menstrual products are available – but getting them isn’t easyMost secondary schools have signed up to the Department of Education’s period equality scheme, which provides free menstrual products to individuals who menstruate in schools in England.Yet phs’ poll found some schools are not making period products freely available due to concerns about them being abused or damaged.Holly said at her previous school, requests for menstrual products required a trip to the office, often involving male staff and lengthy detours.“It’s this whole big process just to get a pad,” she said. “The toilets were also really far from the office, so it becomes this extremely stressful ordeal if you unexpectedly get your period.“The whole process could take around 10 minutes of walking here and there and you could leak through and be embarrassed in front of the entire school.” Chrissy Cattle, CEO of Irise International, said restricted toilet access in schools “remains a major barrier to education” for young people who menstruate.“We know schools are under immense pressure, but the reality is that young people who menstruate, as well as those with bladder and bowel conditions, are paying the highest price for these restrictions,” she said.“Education is a right, and no student should have to choose between their period and their learning.”The charity and phs have created a UK Schools Toilet Policy Toolkit, offering practical solutions to meet the needs of schools and students.Kelly Greenaway, period equality lead at phs Group, said: “No learner should ever be forced to endure the shame and embarrassment of bleeding through their uniform because they are not allowed to leave their lesson.“We need to give teachers the training, knowledge, support and tools to ensure that toilet access is a given – a right – for any learner on their period.”Related...I Tracked My Periods For Six Months And Realised Something That Changed My Life4 Ways to Tell Your Children About Periods Without Being Awkward'Don’t Assume Quiet Is OK': How Overwhelmed Schools Miss Autism In Girls

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