One teenager is speaking out and hoping to change her school’s policies after she was denied access to the bathroom while on her period.
The incident caused this young woman a lot of embarrassment, and her story has been shared around the world.
RELATED STORIES
For women, getting your period is just a fact of life.
Even though this is a normal and natural occurrence, there are still a number of misconceptions surrounding periods.
This can make getting your period stressful or embarrassing, especially for teenagers.
As if being a teenager wasn’t already difficult enough!
The last place you would expect to have this kind of misunderstanding is at school.
Students should feel safe, understood, and heard.
Many schools have even started offering free feminine hygiene products for students.
Such an amazing step!
Scotland actually just made period products free for the whole country in a historical campaign.
Monica Lennon created the Period Products Bill, and recently it got passed its first stage in Scottish Parliament.
However, one teenager is speaking out after she says she was humiliated and denied access to the washroom while on her period.
The incident made international news and sparked a debate about school bathroom policies for female students.
Maisie-Rae Adams is a 14-year-old student at Rednock School in the U.K.
Like many girls at this age, she was on her period at school.
When Maisie-Rae asked her teacher to visit the washroom to change her sanitary pad, the teacher refused and reportedly told her to “learn to control her period.”
Yes, we’re just as perplexed.
The teacher’s response came after Maisie-Rae’s third attempt of asking to be excused to change her sanitary pad.
Her teacher’s refusal caused her to have an accident.
Maisie-Rae suffers from frequent and heavy periods.
She’s also received three detentions from asking to go to the washroom in the past due to her period.
For women who are menstruating, there are a number of reasons why they need to change their sanitary products frequently.
The first and most obvious reason is comfort. Products like pads and tampons were really only designed to be worn for a few hours maximum.
There can also be serious health consequences to not changing sanitary products in a timely fashion.
Toxic Shock Syndrome is a rare, but deadly infection which can be caused by wearing a tampon longer than eight hours.
Maisie-Rae said she was “shocked” by her teacher’s response, then grabbed a pad from her bag and left to go to the washroom.
When she returned to the classroom, her teacher barred her from class and Maisie-Rae faced disciplinary action.
The entire incident happened in front of Maisie-Rae’s peers.
Periods can already be a sensitive topic for teenagers, and not many would want this scenario broadcast to their class.
Maisie-Rae and her mom want to work with school officials to prevent another situation like this from happening.
“I think it would be a good idea to get the girls wearing a little pink wristband and then it would show the teachers and others that the girl is on her period and that they may be a little emotional and not able to concentrate that week,” said Kelly Adams, Maisie-Rae’s mom, in an interview with Gloucestershire Live .
School officials have also spoken out about the incident.
The school said they do have a “pink card policy” that allows female students discreetly to tell their teachers that they need to use the washroom due to their periods.
The school’s headteacher has said that they can’t comment on individual cases, but they are committed to supporting young women on their periods.
“We are sensitive to the needs of all students but especially girls in this situation, who are developing emotionally and physically,” said David Alexander, the headteacher of the school.
He added that the school also provides free sanitary products for students.
The headteacher said he will be working with Maisie-Rae and her mom to develop a system so female students can attend to any personal needs at school discreetly.
Let’s hope that the school actually follows through with their promises, and other institutions take this as a lesson.
No person who is menstruating should ever feel embarrassed or reprimanded for it.
