Here at the UoB Feminist Society we have been helping refugees as much as we can this year. Rowena Salmon gives an update on our pads for refugees campaign.

This academic year, the University of Bristol Feminist Society has been (and still is) collecting sanitary towels for women (and other menstruating people) in refugee camps in southern Europe.

Firstly, we are pleased to announce that our first round of collected sanitary products were sent to the refugee camp in Salvonski Brod in Croatia with Refugee Aid in January. We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who donated and those continuing to donate.

This term we also hosted our first ever Period Party. The event was at Flipside at the end of February and it was A BALL. We had a bangin feminist playlist (featuring menstruation classics such as Tacocat’s Crimson Wave) and Adey Akitoye performed an incredibly moving spoken word piece.

FemSoc was also really thrilled to have representatives for some of the menstruation-related activism going on in Bristol; Louisa from Bristol’s Homeless Period campaign and Emilia who is part of an active group (successfully!) campaigning against the Tampon Tax told us a bit about the issues they focus on and what we can all do to get involved.

We were also happy to have Shai from No More Taboo, a social enterprise which sells sustainable sanitary products, but which also runs education programmes and charitable projects both in the UK and overseas, who told us a bit about the work they’re doing.

The event raised an incredible £90 which will buy over 1400 pads for menstruating refugees. We’re currently making arrangements to get our donations to Refugee Aid in Taunton who will send them out to Syria.

We will be continuing to take donations from our main collection point in the ASS library, which has been moved to the right hand side of the entrance as you come in.

If you would like to get involved, make sure you check out the Facebook page here.

Pictures by Rowena Salmon and illustration by Kate Dickinson