³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Elaine is an audiologist. She and her husband Rod live in Edinburgh with their two children; Katrina (just turned 17), her younger brother Cameron and their two cats. Katrina goes to high school in Edinburgh, and in the last year she's gotten involved in girls' rights charity Plan International UK. They're working to banish the stigma around periods after they surveyed girls aged between 14-21 in the UK and found nearly half were embarrassed about their period (48 per cent).

The charity is calling for the new Relationships and Sex Education curriculum – currently under consultation and due to be rolled out in September 2019- to incorporate lessons which teach girls and boys, together, about the physical, personal and social aspects of menstruation.

These findings made Katrina want to share the conversation with her mum and her gran. She says that she wants to be part of the generation that doesn't get embarrassed any more.

Elaine's experiences were very different. She grew up in Dunfermline in Fife and never shared a conversation with her mum about periods. Speaking about it with Katrina made her go back and talk to her own mum to ask why the subject was so taboo. When Elaine started her period, she recalls being handed some products and left to it. There was no information, either at home or at school.

Katrina is passionate about boys and girls learning about periods together at school, rather than education focusing just on girls. She thinks that making both genders better-informed is key to getting over the social stigma.

To find out more about Plan International UK’s #weallbleed campaign, visit www.plan-uk.org/weallbleed

Show less