The government will pledge to provide free sanitary products at all secondary schools in England, according to a campaign group. 

Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to announce the funds in his spring statement, says Free Periods.

They will be available to all students who need them.

Free Periods – led by 19-year-old Amika George – launched a legal campaign in January, alongside the Red Box Project, calling for the government to end period poverty.

Campaigners warned some girls from low-income families missed school during their periods as they couldn’t afford sanitary products.

According to figures collected by Plan International UK in 2017, one in 10 girls and women aged between 14 and 21 said they had been unable to afford sanitary wear.

Ms George said: “This is a victory for everyone who has been campaigning to eradicate period poverty in schools.

“Periods should never hold back a child from achieving their true potential, and now, after two years of campaigning, we will see menstrual products available for free in all English secondary schools.

“We’re going to keep fighting for better education and work to destigmatise periods.”

Ms George began campaigning for all girls to have access to sanitary products at the age of 17 and started a popular change.org petition.

Following the petition’s success, about 2,000 protesters gathered outside Downing Street calling for free menstrual products to be provided to all children receiving free school meals.

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She has since received a Goalkeepers award from Bill and Melinda Gates and was listed by TIME magazine as one of the most influential teenagers in the world in 2018.

In 2018, Scotland became the first government in the world to offer free menstrual products to students at schools, colleges and universities nationally.

Wales also pledged to provide a £1m fund to tackle period poverty in the same year.

The latest announcement follows an NHS pledge to make tampons and sanitary towels available to patients.

The government also committed to end period poverty around the world by 2030, with £2m to be invested in international aid.

The chancellor’s spring statement is set to take place on Wednesday.

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