In the UK, there’s a 5 percent tax on sanitary products. These products, necessary for women once a month, are known as “non-essential, luxury items.”
That doesn’t sound right, does it? They’re not non-essential, since every woman needs them, and they’re not a luxury, since women don’t have the option not to use them.
But recently, there was a vote on whether or not to remove this tax, and the vote was to keep it. And some women are taking a stand about this decision.
Charlie Edge, a 22-year-old, decided to free-bleed outside of Westminster Abbey on Friday in order to protest this tax.
She wrote on Facebook: “Everyone keeps saying ‘haha omg how quickly would we get free tampons if everyone stopped wearing them?!’ So, I’m giving it a go.”
She and two friends took up protest outside Parliament, free bleeding and holding up signs with slogans like “No Uterus? No Opinion” and “Does Your Tax Make You Feel Awkward?”
Some people, she mentioned, have been “grossed out” by it, while others have shown their support.
Edge says if they’re disgusted by the free-bleeding, it only proves that tampons shouldn’t be “luxury” items.
She said, “This isn’t just ‘three girls outside parliament with blood stains.’ This is three more people who are angry about something, encouraging the millions of other people who are also angry about the same thing, to talk about it.”
When asked, a government spokesman said that the current 5% tax is the lowest allowed under the EU rules. The Prime Minister did not think it possible to reduce the price.
