The Homeless Period
Insight: The government didn’t classify sanitary products as essential for homeless women, so they weren’t included in homeless shelters funding. This meant women were forced into unsafe, unhygienic ways of managing their periods, making it harder to stay clean, find work and stay off the streets. It was a form of systemic discrimination that no one was talking about.
Idea: Expose the reality through a powerful film, then give people a way to act on it immediately. The petition wasn’t an add on - it was the point.
The Social Mechanics: The campaign had zero budget, so it had to carry itself. I seeded the film via Twitter, targeting communities most likely to engage and act on the CTA. The tone deliberately cut through the usual noise on the platform, making it hard to scroll past.
The Cultural Impact: The petition reached over 100,000 signatures in under 48 hours and received international press coverage across Europe, USA and Australia. It was subsequently raised in UK parliament contributing to change in shelter funding policy. The total earned media value reached £10M+
It was even cited in the book ‘Invisible Women’ by Caroline Criado Perez.
UK Parliament | The Guardian |Independent | BBC |The Huffington Post |Dailymail | Telegraph| Mic | Stylist | Dazed | Aljazeera | Refinery29 | Big Issue | Channel 4 | Metro | Evening Standard
Although we never registered The Homeless Period as a charity, similar causes such as The Bloody Good Period charity was founded off the back of bringing this issue to light.
The initiative is now run by supporters around the world and we’ve used our community to help promote Laura Coryton’s amazing efforts to put an end to tampon tax.
Full site here: http://thehomelessperiod.com/
- ORGANIC SOCIAL - OOH - PR -
