Some may find it self-indulgent, even downright obnoxious, for one to write an article about an organisation they themselves created. I don’t.

I’m Rhian, and my friend Nicki Gaskell and I started the Manx Menstrual Movement campaign in 2024 after being inspired by Scotland. Our kilt-wearing cousins had become the first country in the world to protect in law the right to access free period products for anyone who needs them. And we thought, ‘well, if a country with a population of 5 million and deep-fried Mars bars can make that happen, why can’t we?’

‘But WHY should period products be free? I DON’T WANT MY TAXES TO GO ON BLOODY WOMEN’S PRODUCTS THAT THEY’VE ALWAYS PAID FOR,’ some of you bellow.

Yeah, I hear ya, times are tight. But your tax goes on toilet paper, which is free in public bathrooms. Why? Because it caters to people’s natural bodily functions and is essential to our comfort, hygiene, and dignity.

Imagine you needed the loo and went into a single cubicle bathroom to find no toilet paper and no paper towels. After panicking, you resort to the only thing accessible as something to wipe with - your sock. Used, you look to throw your sock away but there’s no bin, so you have to flush it, which blocks the toilet. Stress-levels rising along with the water in the loo, you go to wash your hands and see there’s no hand soap, hot water or hand dryer. You dart out of the loo and are left walking around feeling unclean, uncomfortable, and highly anxious about whether your trousers are getting stained while you walk through Strand Street desperately trying to find another toilet.

Luckily, that situation is unlikely. Public bathrooms are usually well-stocked with toilet paper, hand towels or dryers, hand soap, and bins so no one has to leave the loo feeling uncomfortable. But it’s a situation women and girls face monthly if they’re caught short without period products.

‘Okay, yes. BUT PEOPLE WILL TAKE MORE THAN THEY NEED. THEY WILL ABUSE THE SYSTEM!’ I hear a bunch of you counter.

You’re right, there likely will be some people who will take more than they need, as I’m sure people do with the toilet paper in public bathrooms too. You’re never going to get people who don’t abuse systems, but once they get used to seeing free products consistently, they may then relax into knowing they don’t have to desperately stockpile.

By making products free we’re helping reduce period poverty, which, though you might not see it, is prevalent on the Isle of Man. And when women and girls can’t afford period products the knock-on effect is substantial. It leads to women having to take time off work, sometimes unpaid, and girls taking time off school, although most schools on the island do provide free products now, which is excellent.

To try and help with period poverty on the island, Nicki and I have joined forces with Douglas City Library and set up a ‘Period Pick n Mix Station.’ There, people have access to a variety of free period products and can take as much as they need. And the need, it seems, is very much there. We’ve been contacted multiple times by the library team who tell us product numbers are running low, which means people know about and are using the station, which is brilliant, and the need is prominent.

Some government members have used our ‘Period Pick n Mix Station’ as a reason to vote against making sanitary products free for all, but as we’ve seen with the island’s former Red Box Project, organisations that rely solely on donations and volunteers are not a lasting solution. It’s like sticking blue tac over a fractured bone.

Speaking of government, the brilliant Joney Faragher MHK is our person on the ground in the wedding cake trying to turn our hope of making period products free on the island into a reality. So, I’m going to pass the mic over to her. Take it away Joney.

What is the Manx Menstrual Movement trying to achieve from a government perspective?

‘The political arm of the MMM is working on bringing a Bill to the House of Keys that will enable all government departments and public bodies who manage public toilets to access period products to stock their facilities. These products can be accessed by any member of the public, either for use at the time or for use at home. There will be an obligation on all government and public body-coordinated facilities to provide period products – in much the same way, for a frame of reference, that toilet paper is provided.’

What stage are we at in the legislative process?

‘Leave to Introduce the Bill as a Private Member’s Bill has been given by the House of Keys, and the first draft of the Bill is nearly complete. It’s called the Period Products (Free Provision) Bill. We’re close to getting it tabled for First Reading.’

Since the age of humankind, periods have been around. We wouldn’t be here without them. They are one of our most natural bodily functions. It is the fundamental right of menstruators to have access to products that are a necessity in maintaining comfort, hygiene, and dignity. We may have always paid for them before, but that does not mean we ever should have. No doubt if the entire population had periods, products would have been made free a long time ago.

Head on over to the Free Period Products Facebook and Instagram pages to find out more and join the movement. Free deep-fried Mars bars for new members. (This is a lie).