Accessibility

A study by Plan International UK in 2018 found that 42% of girls use makeshift period products from socks, toilet paper, and newspaper because they could not afford period products. This was supported by a YouGov survey in 2022, which found that one in eight adults with periods say they are likely to be unable to afford period products within the next 12 months. Having period products freely available within the department helps to reduce the socio-economic impact of periods for students and allows students to make learning their priority. Join Charlie, Elba and Sofia as they discuss accessibility and period products, including the challenges in getting free products provided in the department, the need for more sustainable products, and the importance of inclusive language around periods. (0:52) Introduction (3:13) The Oxford Period Campaign (4:08) Challenges of implementing the scheme (6:56) Can more be done? (9:31) Accessible language About the hosts: Charlie: Hi, I’m Charlie and I am a postgraduate student in inorganic chemistry. I am really passionate about EDI work within chemistry and when the project was proposed looking into the impact of periods in chemistry, I was really excited to be involved! Elba: Hi, I'm Elba and I'm currently a fourth-year student at Worcester! I have loved working on this podcast, it's an issue that is very important to me and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to not only hopefully get the conversation started, but also meet some amazing people on the way! Sofia: My name is Sofia and I'm a third-year undergrad Chemistry student at Oxford. I am also the co-founder of The Oxford Period, a campaign for access to free period products across the University. We want to talk about all things periods and how they affect our daily lives as chemists at Oxford. We would love to here your views and opinions: Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn