A woman who bought boxes of sanitary products for her fellow students has said she's "extremely happy" UWE now plans to supply free tampons.
Daisy Wakefield used her student loan to buy dozens of boxes of sanitary towels and tampons before spreading them across University of the West of England (UWE) campuses.
It is estimated menstrual products cost more than £18,000 over the course of a lifetime, or approximately £13 every month.
Forty per cent of girls in the UK are thought to have been forced to resort to using toilet roll because of an inability to afford products.
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Daisy, a third year Drawing and Print student, has made art to highlight the issue of period poverty throughout her degree. But last month she took the step of paying for boxes of sanitary products in a bid to change the university's attitude towards providing them.
As the president of the university's feminist society, the 22-year-old has taken part in extensive training around the issue of period poverty and has been campaigning consistently for free access to products for students.
In the wake of Daisy's campaign, UWE has agreed to offer free tampons across its campuses.
Daisy said: "I am extremely happy and proud UWE have recognised the urgency of ending period poverty by supplying free sanitary products.
"Myself and UWE will be working closely together on this campaign to ensure we get the best outcome possible.
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"Additionally I will be pushing for access to products for all genders, offering reusable menstrual products and training staff to recognise period poverty.
"I will also be attending the NUS Women’s Conference next month, whereby I hope to bring national attention that all universities need to support their students through period poverty."
She also said it was "a shame" it took the university so long to recognise the issue, but added she is "happy they are willing to help and make positive change".
She said: "I hope more universities in the near future hear my story and take initiative by also supplying free sanitary products."
What UWE has said
A UWE spokesperson said: "Our Students’ Union already provides free sanitary products in its toilets at UWE Bristol, and we look forward to working with them more closely to extend this scheme further across our campuses.
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"While we have not yet agreed to universally supply free sanitary products, we are now exploring various different options with our Students’ Union on how we can extend the financial support we already provide and make it easier for students to know how and where to access it.
"We are also planning on doing some further research with our students to understand whether there is a significant effect of period poverty at UWE and how we can reduce this."
