Woman starts scheme offering free period products

Rochelle Brown, from Scunthorpe, set up Period Points because she suffers from Von Willebrand disease

Free period products will be offered in public spaces thanks to a woman whose period can last up to 12 days because of a blood clotting disorder.

Pads and tampons will be available at businesses and supermarkets in Scunthorpe when Period Points launches next month.

The project was set up by 32-year-old Rochelle Brown who has Von Willebrand disease - a condition that makes it hard for blood to clot, leading to excessive bleeding.

"I just want Period Points to become the norm... and that nobody's left feeling embarrassed or alone in something that is the most natural thing in the world," she said.

Ms Brown was diagnosed with the condition when she was 14 and has occasions where she doesn't have enough sanitary products to get through one period.

"I have really heavy periods, bleeding gums... I used to suffer really badly from nosebleeds but periods are definitely the worst for me," she said.

"I [can] bleed through a tampon, bleed through a pad... just a constant cycle of changing all the time."

The Period Points will be located in businesses and shops in Scunthorpe

In 2022, Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products free for all.

Ms Brown hopes to launch 10 Period Points in venues across Scunthorpe like Asda and Tesco.

She is appealing to businesses to host one or sponsor a donation point if they don't have space. She is also appealing for donations to fund the products.

"The fact that I'm campaigning for something that's the norm in a country so close to us, it's crazy really," Ms Brown said.

"I would love it to not really mean anything and it just to be the norm," she said. "I want [Period Points] to be like your friend that always has a tampon in a bag."

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