Grace and Alastair Campbell talk periods as they team up with End Water Poverty and WaterAid to tackle period stigma

on
13 May 2019
In
Periods
Grace and Alastair Campbell laughing together

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Comedian Grace Campbell and her father, journalist Alastair Campbell are encouraging people to open up and talk about periods through a series of amusing and endearing films they have created with NGOs End Water Poverty and WaterAid.

In the three films, the pair completes a period quiz, explore euphemisms and taboos around the world, and discuss their own education on the subject.

According to a WaterAid survey, a quarter of British women feel too embarrassed to chat to their dads about period pain or PMT, while only a third of Brits would be happy to talk to anyone about their menstrual cycle. This lack of open discussion is likely to have contributed to the fact that 1 in 8 women in the UK didn’t know about periods before menstruating.

Globally, one in three people have no access to a decent toilet. Together with the stigma that often surrounds periods as well as a lack of knowledge of menstrual hygiene and access to sanitary products, this can keep girls from school and affect women’s ability to work.

The films are aimed at helping encourage people to open up about periods to help tackle the taboos and discrimination and ensure women and girls everywhere can manage their periods hygienically and with dignity.

Grace, known for highlighting sexual bias through her comedy, said:

“The silence and taboos around periods mean that there isn’t enough of a debate about toilets and water facilities being accessible to everyone. This needs to change. Let’s talk about periods.

“We need to be talking to our fathers, boyfriends, brothers, bosses and friends about periods. If we want to smash the taboos and end period poverty, we need to make it a totally normalised part of our dialogue.”

Alastair added:

“One thing I’ve learnt – by having a daughter who is active in this area – is that period poverty is real and it’s an issue that has to be addressed. We’re not going to address it if we don’t just open up a bit.”

WaterAid and End Water Poverty are working towards a world where women and girls everywhere have a decent toilet, clean water, a good understanding of menstruation, and access to suitable hygienic materials to manage their periods.

Tim Wainwright, Chief Executive at WaterAid, said:

“Every day, around 288 million women are on their period; it’s a perfectly normal part of life. Yet, menstruation remains shrouded in silence and stigma, and one in three women and girls have no access to toilets to manage their periods. This means many women and girls are restricted from certain activities, often missing school and other opportunities as well as putting their health at risk. This shouldn’t be normal.

“Us men need to play our part in opening up the conversation, both within and outside our families so we can understand and support girls and women and change the way periods are viewed here and around the world.”

“We appreciate the support of Grace and Alistair through these endearing films and we hope they will get people talking about periods across gender and generation.”

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Debra Kilby, Senior Media Officer, at [email protected], or Laura Crowley, PR manager, [email protected] or +44 (0)207 793 4965, or or +44 (0)207 793 4485.

Or call our after-hours press line on +44 (0)7887 521 552 or email [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

WaterAid

WaterAid’s vision is of a world where everyone has access to clean water and sanitation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 26.4 million people with clean water and 26.3 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org/uk, follow @WaterAidUK or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid.

  • 844 million people in the world – one in nine – do not have clean water close to home.[1]

  • 2.3 billion people in the world – almost one in three – do not have a decent toilet of their own.[2]

  • Around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's more than 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[3]

  • Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.[4]

  • Just £15 can provide one person with clean water.[5]

  • To find out if countries are keeping their promises on water and sanitation, see the online database www.WASHwatch.org

 

[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[3] washwatch.org

[4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage

[5] www.wateraid.org/uk