Periods in sport: Female athletes back #SayPeriod campaign
- Published
60% of respondents to the BBC Elite British Sportswomen's Survey in 2020 said their performance was affected by their periods
A group of 50 elite female athletes have joined a campaign aimed at normalising language around periods.
The #SayPeriod campaign wants to stop using euphemisms to describe periods, saying it can perpetuate stigmas and stop people discussing the issue.
The group are asking people to sign a pledge committing to discussing periods in a cohesive and standardised way.
Dina Asher-Smith was one of a number of athletes to call for more research into the impact of periods on performance.
The campaign has been launched by women's health advocacy group The Well HQ.
The group says 64% of school-age girls will stop playing sport by their mid-teens because of period pain and shame.
An Adidas survey in 2021, external reported one in four girls dropped out of sport in adolescence, with fear of period leakage a key reason.
West Bromwich Albion and Swansea's women's team recently changed the shorts colour of their home kits because of concerns about having to wear white while on their periods.
"Over 5,000 euphemisms tells a story: we don't like talking about periods," group co-founder Baz Moffat said.
"But if we don't draw a line we'll continue using euphemisms and females will suffer in perpetuity."
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