Evaluation of the Welsh Government’s Period Dignity Grant / Gwerthusiad o’r Grant Urddas Mislif

Adroddiad ar gael yn Gymraeg ar waelod y dudalen hon.

The Welsh Government has been delivering the Period Dignity Grant since 2018 to positively change how people experience periods in Wales. Period poverty and period dignity are complex issues and require a sensitive and considerate approach. For example, there remains social stigma and misunderstanding around menstruation, as well as the affordability of period products for many people who have periods.

To support Welsh Government in assessing the implementation and impact of the Period Dignity grant, M·E·L Research were commissioned to carry out an independent evaluation. The evaluation looked to explore the following:

• Assess the efficacy of the current funding and period product dissemination process (process evaluation).

• Identify the impact the grant is having on recipients of period products (impact evaluation). (These include school children, learners in FEI settings and anybody using period products in community settings, specifically under-served communities)
• To provide insight and recommendations for future grants.

Approach

To address the outcomes, a set of research questions were developed for the evaluation. To outline how the programme was intended to work, the desired outcomes and longer term impacts, a programme theory was developed.

The evaluation used a mixed methods approach, collecting primary qualitative and quantitative data, alongside the analysis of secondary monitoring data provided by the Welsh Government. The evaluation also delivered a rapid literature review. This was to support the Period Dignity Grant Evaluation framework development and provide insights and context from existing sources. Our overall approach included:

• Rapid Literature Review – related to period poverty and dignity. Findings from the review have been incorporated into the report. A snowballing search methodology using the references in reviewed literature has been used as part of the search strategy.
• In depth interviews and group discussions – one to one depth interviews were carried out with organisations over the phone or via Teams/Zoom.
• Online community – end users were recruited to take part in an online community. Participants were asked to complete 7 tasks which took approximately 40 minutes to complete. Two moderators were available during office hours to engage and ask questions with participants. The community board was open for a period of 3 days, enabling respondents to complete the activities in their own time. Most of the end users who provided feedback were of the younger to middle age groups, with a handful being under 16 years old. Most were in education, with some of the older people being in work. We managed to get feedback from some transgender individuals.
• Quantitative survey: The evaluation also developed a short survey for end users to complete. Participants could complete the survey online or on paper. A longer, more in-depth survey was circulated with organisations who had been part of the grant / received free period products.
• Secondary data: Welsh Government provided monitoring forms from organisations from the 2017/18 to the 2021/22 grant funding periods.

Outcomes

We found that the Period Dignity Grant was being accessed by the people who menstruate across Wales and including those who find it difficult to access period products generally. However, more work is needed to reach community settings such as voluntary groups and grassroots organisations that are most likely to be supporting those underserved communities.

There were still gaps in support for underserved communities, such as having regular access to products (disposable or reusable) and understanding how to use and wash reusable products effectively.

Whilst the grant did result in a range of positive outcomes for people, such as financial savings, the single biggest driver for people who said they were experiencing better periods was being less worried and embarrassed about menstruating, as they were more comfortable due to the free products easily available.

The reports are available in English and Welsh:
Evaluation of Period Dignity Grant (Full Report ¦ Summary)

Gwerthusiad o’r Grant Urddas Mislif (Adroddiad Llawn ¦ Crynodeb)