Absent is a film made with Freedom4girls to bring light to the ongoing taboo of talking about issues surrounding periods, particularly the shocking statistics of period poverty; 68% of women in the UK are forced to use makeshift sanitary protection.

In the film we follow Chloe and her mother, who says she can’t afford this “luxury item” for them both, despite working all the hours she can. Locking herself in the bathroom, Chloe is faced with a familiar choice: making use of toilet paper, or being absent from school again.

Burke Wilde << (Period poverty and the taboo surrounding periods) is impacting children’s education and sets back young girls before they are even given a chance...it’s not dirty, it’s not shameful, it’s natural and it’s important for people not to shy away from the discussion.

I truly believe if men menstruated we would not be having this conversation...Periods need to stop being a ‘women’s issue>>

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Freedom4Girls. The charity was founded in 2016 by Tina Leslie, who – after working at a women’s organisation in Kenya and seeing the extent of period poverty there – turned her attention to tackling the issue in the UK. Freedom4Girls has since spearheaded a myriad of initiatives, among them organising donations to schools, partaking in the government’s Period Poverty task force, and delivering education sessions around the country.

Things are gradually changing - Apple introducing a period emoji, CBD tampons, or reformed sex education which will see period health taught in schools by 2020.

Some text taken from https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/46711/1/period-poverty-uk-preventing-girls-going-school-absent-film

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