Our Strategy
Recognising the trauma and anxiety caused by not having access to essential menstrual products; our vision is of a society in which asylum seekers, refugees and otherwise displaced people and their dependents have unrestricted access to high quality, free period supplies of their choice.
We recognise that in order to end “period poverty”, we must also ensure that everyone has access to menstrual and reproductive education, and that many people living in poverty, including those seeking asylum must have access to the high quality education and care that they deserve.
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We believe that this responsibility should not fall on charities such as ourselves, but as part of a government strategy that cares for women and people who menstruate, especially those living in poverty.
OUR BLOODY STRATEGY.
Our Mission
We fight for menstrual equity and the rights of all women and people who bleed, so that no one is held back by their period or society's warped perception of the menstruating body.
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We will achieve this mission through these 3 action strands:
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...and, because our liberation is connected to each other's, our work must be: intersectional, inclusive, diverse, anti-racist and decolonial, with self-care embedded in all that we do.
We have 8 ways of working (WOWs)
1. A comprehensive education programme for those who are least likely to access it, exploring both the bodily and cultural aspects of menstruation.
2. Providing anyone who needs them with high quality period products, with a focus on the most marginalised.
3. Bold, demanding and culture changing communications which provide everyone with a better way to talk about periods.
4. Working closely with the people we receive our services in an ethical, considered and respectful way, with the understanding that talking about periods is the vector to so many other crucial conversations.
5. A supportive, feminist, anti- racist and trans inclusive mindset and way of working that means everyone is able to bring their whole self to work.
6. Ethical fundraising to ensure we are not "digging for oil with one hand and planting a tree with the other."
7. Changing the way people think about periods at work - a place where many of us spend most of our time and energy, and yet is a place rife with inequalities.
8. Campaigns to win free period products for all, which bring the people we work with to the forefront, as experts by experience.
So, how will we know it's working?
We're all about Conversation not KPIs (though we do love a bloody good spreadsheet).
We cannot predict the future, so why are we trying? We have got to where we are today by doing a lot of talking, a lot of thinking, a whole lot of reflecting and by treating each other and everyone outside of the organisation as humans with their own joys and problems.
We consider (and write down) what we think each WOW (Way of Working) looks like by the end of the year. Throughout the year, those responsible for that WOW discuss in 1:1 with line managers, and the wider team, as to whether that approach is working, or whether it should be changed.
Each November we will take a look altogether at where we got up to, and each December we will discuss and write down our goals for that year. Goals is not the right word, because they are only there to guide us but we don't have the right words yet. That's OK, we will.
We have a clear vision and extremely strong values, so we will ensure that every decision made gets us on our way to achieving that vision, and aligns with our values.
FYI these are our values.
They're non-negotiable.
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Everybody should be able to care for their period in a way that works for them, and have the products, information and support they need (aka - everybody deserves a bloody good period)
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We shouldn’t have to exist. This need should be factored into our society, including government provision, especially for the most vulnerable
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The UK has a legal and moral obligation to provide safe, welcoming, humane asylum to people fleeing violence and persecution. The fact that this welcome is instead a deliberately and increasingly hostile environment means that we our work focuses on refugees and asylum seekers as a priority
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Facilitating the personal choices and comfort of the people we work with is paramount. We empower and educate people on the options available to them, but ultimately prioritise their choice
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It is critical that we aim to be sustainable in what we do, offering reusable products where possible and appropriate for the people we work with, whilst never burdening the people most affected but least responsible for climate change
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We have the most impact when we work collaboratively and creatively as part of a network of organisations and individuals with shared goals and values
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Disruption and challenge to the status quo is essential to achieving our vision
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We are at our best when we are intersectional, inclusive, diverse, anti-racist and decolonial, with self-care embedded in all that we do.