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<p>Periods should never be a taboo subject. Women and girls should feel comfortable
discussing their menstrual cycle, and how it affects their attitude to sport and their
sporting performance.</p><p>We are determined to encourage more women and girls to
get active and break down the barriers that prevent them from doing so, something
we set out in our sport strategy Sporting Future. Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign
was created to get more women active regardless of shape, size and ability, and aims
to tackle head on the social barriers that can prevent women from feeling like they
can join in. The latest phase of the campaign, launched earlier this year, addressed
periods, showing a tampon string towards the end of the advert. The reaction to this
in the press and in online discussion was overwhelmingly positive with a recognition
that it shows the truth of women’s lives.</p><p>Sport England are also supporting
the government taskforce to tackle period poverty, primarily around actions to tackle
the stigma relating to women in sport, and particularly their impact on teenage participation
in physical activity in schools.</p><p>In addition, we welcome the work that the English
Institute of Sport is doing through their SMARTHer campaign to open up conversations
amongst athletes, coaches and staff in high performance sport around athletes’ menstrual
cycles in order to improve support.</p><p> </p>
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