More girls miss school and college due to their periods than colds, survey finds
Girls miss more school or college days due to periods than any other reason – including colds, mental health or truancy, according to a new report. Periods cause girls to be absent from school or college for three days a term on average, compared with colds and flu (2.6 days), mental health (1.9 days) and truancy (1.2 days), the data released by washroom provider phs Group has revealed. This equates to 54 lost education days over the course of their teen years, the equivalent of 11 academic weeks. The findings form part of phs Group’s Period Equality: Breaking the Cycle report, now in its third year, for which Censuswide polled 1,262 girls aged 13-18 years across the UK. The majority (82%) cited cramps as the main reason for this, while almost one in five (19%) said they stay away from lessons because they’re embarrassed about being on their period, and one in 12 (8%) said it’s because no period products were available to them. This is despite the introduction of period equality measures in recent years, designed to improve access to free period products in education settings. “It’s important to recognise that huge advances have been made in giving girls access to free period products in schools across the UK. What we must do now is close the gap between providing schools with all the products they need and getting them into the hands of any girls that need them, for whatever reason,” said Kelly Greenaway, period equality lead at phs Group. “We know from our own data providing schools with products, that they have more than enough for their girls, so we need to tackle the misconceptions around free access to products in washrooms, and the stigma and shame that goes hand-in-hand with failing to have open conversations about menstruation.” Since the launch of the Government’s Period Product Scheme in January 2020, which provides free period products to education settings in England, via phs Group, 99% of secondary schools and 94% of post-16 organisations have ordered products through the scheme. However, the report published today highlights how periods remain a barrier to education for many girls – with the number of girls missing school due to their periods almost the same for the 2023 findings (54%) as the findings in 2019 (52%), before free sanitary product schemes were introduced. Despite the roll-out of such schemes, over half (52%) of the students surveyed said they did not find period products freely available in their school and college settings, while one in seven (14%) said they did not know if they were available. To help tackle the issue and raise awareness, phs Group is launching a new period equality podcast – called The Blobcast: Free The Period – hosted by menstrual wellbeing and confidence educator Kasey Robinson. Robinson said: “I know too well about the barriers facing so many of us when it comes to our menstrual health. It’s simply not enough to blame absenteeism figures on access to products alone. “On the ground, the story is clear: we aren’t being educated, supported and informed enough about periods. Menstruation is still a taboo subject, and our experience is a secret to keep to ourselves and something we feel forced to hide. In education settings, this is leading to more and more girls staying away from school. “Without workshops, learning resources and the support for and from teachers and caregivers, this issue will stay the same, or get worse,” Robinson added. “It should not be a revolutionary act to teach people about periods, it’s a right. We need to break the cycle of shame and encourage open and honest conversations about periods – exactly what The Blobcast is seeking to do.” The Blobcast: Free The Period launches on all free streaming platforms on October 18. More information can be found at www.phs.co.uk/TheBlobcast.
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Sam Neill shares blood cancer update as he reveals he’s ‘not remotely afraid’ of death
Sam Neill has been warned by doctors that his cancer treatment drug will stop working at some point, the actor said as he provided a health update months after revealing that he had been diagnosed with stage-three blood cancer. Earlier this year, the Jurassic Park star released his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?, in which he revealed that he was being treated for angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. At the time, Neill shared that he had originally undergone chemotherapy, but that the cancer had soon stopped responding. He then went onto an experimental anti-cancer drug. In a new interview, Neill, 76, shared that he’d upped his dosage of the “grim and depressing” drug from once a month to every two weeks. However, he said, he has now been in remission for 12 months. Neill told ABC’s Australian Story that while he would be on the treatment indefinitely, doctors have told him that, at some point, it will stop working. “I’m prepared for that,” he said, adding that he is “not remotely afraid” of death. The Piano star said that he had first found lumps in his neck in early 2022, and soon learnt that he had cancer. “I started to look at my life and realise how immensely grateful I am for so much of it,” Neill said. “I started to think I better write some of this down because I’m not sure how long I have to live. I was running against the clock." First sharing his cancer diagnosis in March, the New Zealand actor – who is best known for playing palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise – said that dying would “annoy” him. “I’d really like another decade or two, you know?” he said. “We’ve built all these lovely terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I’ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big. But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.” In an interview with The Independent earlier this year, however, Neill threw out the idea of retiring. “The idea of giving up my day job? Intolerable!” he said. “I love acting. It’s really good for me to keep walking onto new sets with young actors and all that stimulation. New words, new ideas, there’s nothing like it. I never want to give that up. The idea of retirement, of having to play golf, fills me with untold dread,” he said. Read More Sam Neill says Robin Williams was ‘the loneliest man on a lonely planet’ Amy Dowden delights Strictly Come Dancing fans in surprise appearance amid breast cancer treatment Richard E Grant says there are friends he’ll ‘never speak to again’ after death of wife Joan Sam Neill says he’s ‘not remotely afraid’ of death as he shares blood cancer update Pregnant Jana Kramer shares details of her recent hospitalisation 4 black women on their experiences with breast cancer
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Ed Gamble used to weigh himself every day amid ‘obsessive’ weight loss: ‘I didn’t have a social life’
Comedian Ed Gamble has opened up about battling his “obsessive” tendencies and the “evil” bathroom scales while discussing losing weight. The stand-up comic and panel show regular lost seven stone in weight in his early twenties, and is now releasing a memoir about his relationship with food titled Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy. In a new interview with The Times, the comic – who hosts comedy food podcast Off Menu with fellow comedian James Acaster – opened up about the ways losing weight changed his life. “After losing weight, I got more obsessed with my image. You do feel different, wondering, ‘Oh, maybe I’m attractive now.’” Gamble, 37, said that he had developed a fixation on fitness after losing weight, and currently took part in the “cult” of CrossFit. However, the Great British Menu judge – who has Type 1 diabetes – had to watch his more obsessive tendencies when he first began to lose weight after he dropped to 12 stone. At this point, Gamble was weighing himself every day. “That’s not a weight I operate well at,” he recalled. “It means I don’t have a social life; I’m always exercising and thinking about what I eat. “At that point, my mum said, ‘You don’t need to keep doing this. Build in having fun again.’” Gamble said that while had weighing scales in his bathroom at the time, he saw them as “evil”. “You’ve put on 2lb. So what? Stop looking. Go with how you feel,” he said. Growing up as a “posh little boy”, Gamble often used food to prove that he was “like the grown-ups”. Speaking to The Independent in August, Ed Gamble recalled first eating poached salmon when he was three or four years old. “I think it would be easy to serve child me in a restaurant,” he said. “I think you’d think I was weird, possibly, because I’d be sat bold upright at the table, sort of like a mini [food critic] Jay Rayner, just demanding everything.” Glutton: The Multi-Course Life of a Very Greedy Boy is released on 26 October. For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this article, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677. NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. Visit eating-disorders.org.uk or call 0845 838 2040 Read More Should plus-size travellers be asked to take weight-loss drugs for flights? It’s plane crazy Paloma Faith on her heartbreak and being a single mum: ‘Our relationship ended because we had those children – it was worth it’ Weight-loss jabs linked to ‘severe’ stomach problems – study Some people are born with a ‘talent for happiness’ – so what’s their secret? Presenter Louise Minchin: Menopause conversations are no longer taboo – but we need to keep going Israel-Hamas conflict: How to talk to teenagers about distressing news stories
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