Screenwriter gives backing in campaign to hand out free feminine hygiene products
THE Scottish screenwriter of award-winning movie I, Daniel Blake has backed a high-profile campaign calling for free tampons to be made available to women.
Edinburgh-based Paul Laverty highlighted the issue of the cost of tampons in the acclaimed Ken Loach film.
He said that while researching the film he had met people in food banks who told him that although people were “very generous” with food items, many women and girls were often not given any support over access to tampons.
Mr Laverty said it was an issue of “dignity” and a “necessity”, as he talked about a scene in the film where a young single parent is driven to shoplifting to get tampons.
He said: “At a time when welfare payments are being frozen and inflation is rising, people are struggling to buy what are total necessities. When we were doing the research for the film I spoke to people in food banks who said that, while the volunteers were very generous, the items that had been donated were mainly food ones.
“I met people in food banks who were given food by volunteers, but some items, such as female hygiene products, were not really available.”
Mr Laverty’s support has been welcomed by Scottish Labour’s inequalities spokeswoman Monica Lennon, who is campaigning for the Scottish Government to make free tampons available.
Ms Lennon said: “To remain healthy and safe during menstruation, women need adequate access to tampons and sanitary towels, but it is an uncomfortable truth that not every woman in Scotland can afford to buy essential feminine hygiene products when they need them.”
A Government spokesmansaid:“Wehavemade significant investment in a range of services to support people on low income or facing acute income crisis and tackle the underlying causes of poverty.”