Rugby Sets a New Standard: Free Sanitary Provisions for Female Athletes
In a progressive step for inclusivity in sports, England Rugby has implemented free sanitary provisions at over 500 clubs across the UK, ensuring that essential resources are available for female players, members, and visitors.
Announced by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), this initiative aims to support women’s participation in rugby by creating a more accommodating environment, just as England prepares to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup next year. Alongside these provisions, England Rugby has introduced a Women’s Health Toolkit, which addresses female athletes’ specific needs and supports the goal of involving over 100,000 women and girls in rugby by 2027.
"...helping to reduce anxiety and create a more inclusive environment."
This initiative also reflects a broader movement in sports to prioritise women’s comfort and well-being, specifically by allowing female athletes to wear dark-colored shorts or trousers. This option addresses a significant concern among female players regarding menstruation and bladder leakage, helping to reduce anxiety and create a more inclusive environment. Through the £7 million Impact '25 fund, clubs are not only providing sanitary products but also upgrading facilities like bathrooms, changing rooms, and social spaces, creating a positive experience for female athletes that encourages long-term participation. These progressive moves in rugby and other sports serve as a call to action for the equestrian community to consider similar changes.
Equitas’ own “Why Can’t We?” campaign, advocates for greater inclusivity in equestrianism and has already influenced change in Ireland:
Eventing Ireland, having listened to their members, quickly changed their policies and from January '24, permitted dark colours breeches to be worn in all competitions, providing a practical option for female riders.
While Dressage Ireland has softened its rules by permitting white breeches with a dark seat, this token gesture highlights that there is still a long road ahead for achieving true inclusivity in equestrian sports.
There has yet been no other significant move towards inclusivity in this area from any other governing body within equestrianism here in Ireland.
Help keep Women in Sport
Also being brought into the spotlight is the astounding statistics around young females participating in sport. The barriers that they face and the retention figures are definitely a cause for concern.
According to British charity Women in Sport, seven in 10 teenage girls avoid participating in sport when they are on their period.
It’s a very similar story in Australia. According to Share the Dignity’s 2024 Bloody Big Survey, 68 per cent of women say they miss sport whilst they are on their period. More than three quarters (76.5 per cent) of these women do so due to fear of leaking.
Rochelle Courtenay, the founder of Share the Dignity, said the problem of fear of leaking has a simple solution: providing free period products in sports facilities, as well as other spaces like workplaces, schools and community spaces.
“It should be standard, like toilet paper,” Courtenay told Women’s Agenda upon the release of the survey earlier this year.
“What I want moving forward is better outcomes for girls and women, whether they’re at sport, whether they’re at work, or whether they’re trying to get an education.
“We’re not asking very much. We’re just asking for equity.”
Sports like rugby are setting an example that equestrianism could greatly benefit from, especially in ensuring that women feel confident and supported. By embracing these changes, the equestrian industry has an opportunity to align with modern, inclusive standards that empower female athletes to stay active, comfortable, and confident in their sport at every level.
BBC
