In loving memory of grandpa, Richard Beale,

and his endless love of books

1930–2018

L.C.

First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Red Shed,

an imprint of Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

www.egmont.co.uk

Text copyright © Laura Coryton 2019

Illustrations copyright © Egmont UK Limited 2019

ISBN 978 1 4052 9469 0

eISBN 978 1 4052 9575 8

A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

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CONTEnTs

CHAPTER 1: InTRODUCtION

6-33

CHAPTER 2: TOOLkIT

34-125

STEP ONE: GOALS

36-50

sTEP TwO: DEcIsION MAkERS

51-68

STEP THREE: RESEARCH

69-86

STEP FOUR: PLATFORM

87-108

STEP fIVE: LAUNCH

109-125

CHAPTER 3: BOUNCE BACK

126-143

FAILURE

126-134

InTERnET TROLLS

135-143

CHAPTER 4: SPEAk UP EVERY DAY 144-187

RELAtIONShIPS 151-164

COnSENT 164-170

SELF-LOVE 171-174

cHAPTER 5: YOUR NEXT STEPS ANd kICkING ASS 188-205

TAMPON TAX CAMPaIGN tIMElINE

206-219

InDeX 220-221

rESOURCES 222

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 223-224

ChAPTeR 1

YoU hAvE tHe

pOwEr tO cHaNgE

tHe wOrLd.

yEs, yOu!

If yOu uSe yOuR voIcE,

aNyThInG Is pOssIbLe.

This book will help you to change the things in the world that shock you. Or even just annoy you. There is no issue too big or too small that YOU are not able to change. It might take time. It will take a lot of work. But every step we can take to make the world a better place is worth it.

6

How do I know? I ran a successful campaign that ended the hugely unfair ‘tampon tax’. That’s right, I said tampon. Don’t be shy. I even made the prime minister say the word ‘tampon’ out loud in Parliament (for the first time in its 800-year history). More on the tampon tax campaign later, but the upshot is: if I can do it, you can too.

There are many issues to feel passionate about. Maybe your local park is being sold off for fancy houses. Maybe your school doesn’t offer food for vegans. Maybe you want world peace (don’t we all?). Big or small, you can make a difference, but it can be hard to know where to start. So I’ve written this book to help you change your world.

P

eR

IoD!

7

HoW tO SpEaK

Up aNd

ChAnGe

tHe WoRlD!

Before I started my campaign, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have training, I don’t have any campaigning superpowers or global politician parents to help me. I’m really pretty ordinary. If I can do it, so can you, by using my fIVE-STEP TOOLkIT for change.

This book outlines the key steps you need to take to change the world. Together we will get specific

8

about your goals (sTeP ONE) and get focused on who to target (sTeP TWO). I’ll show you how to be smart with your research (sTeP tHrEE) and get creative with your platforms (you guessed it –

sTeP FOuR!). Finally, sTeP fIVE will give you the

confidence to plan your launch.

I had a lot of success in my campaign, but I also had a lot of knockbacks. I think it’s really important to talk about failing and how to BOUNCE BACK.

It’s not easy, but with help I managed it. We’ll also cover a very modern and very unpleasant phenomenon: TROLLS. In Chapter 3 we’ll talk about how you can use trolls to your advantage. Their biases can empower your voice and legitimize your campaign. Never let them knock your campaigning confidence.

9

I’vE saId It bEFOrE aNd

I’LL sAy It aGaIn:

IF I cAn dO It,

If tHeY cAn dO It,

So CaN YoU!

If you really care about an issue, don’t hold back. Make a change. Ask yourself who else will speak up about your issue if you don’t.

NoW Is yOuR

tImE tO

sPeAk uP!

Channel your inner Emma Watson and speak up about what you believe in. Emma launched the HeForShe campaign at the United Nations, and in doing so she changed the face of feminism.

During her speech, Emma questioned her ability to talk about women’s rights, asking: is an actress qualified to speak up about this? Yes. I think she absolutely is – because, as she said in her speech, she cares and wants to make things better. And this is what qualifies you to speak up about the things that you care about too.

So, if you’re scared about speaking up, you’re in great company. You don’t have to start by giving a speech to the whole world. You can start small.

BuT ALwAyS tRuSt

tHAT YOU cAn mAkE

a dIfFeReNcE.

11

There’s a time for big campaigns but there are also many times for tiny, everyday actions that have a huge impact. In Chapter 4 we’re going to talk about some difficult things.

ReLatIoNshIpS

CoNsEnT

SelF-LOvE

These are big topics. You can speak up about them on an everyday basis. It’s these conversations that change the world. In Chapter 4 we’ll talk about how political the personal really is. By sparking conversations with those around you about these topics, you can challenge prejudices and change narratives.

12

You can use your voice to find power in lots of everyday situations. Catcalling is just one. When I was at school, I experienced catcalling, sadly, like many, many other female students. It shouldn’t happen, but it does. It made me feel uncomfortable. It still does. But since then,

I’ve learned how to deal with the men who call out to me and my friends. What are they thinking anyway? That we’d reply? ‘What a great chat-up line! Can we make out right now, please?’ Come on.

For years I didn’t know what to do, so I did nothing, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

13

This book will help you discover the many ways you can find your power by using your voice.

It wIlL sHoW yOu hOw tO

bE tHe bAdAss I kNoW

YoU aRe.

After all, changes don’t happen by themselves. Voices make change. Voices like yours.

Just like Lucy Gavaghan, teenage animal welfare activist and my inspiring friend (who, in her spare time convinced supermarket giant Tesco to stop selling caged eggs), always tells me:

‘Never forget the power a single voice has to make an incredible impact.’

14

The InTeRnEt Is oUr SuPeRpOwEr!

I never set out to become a campaigner. I didn’t dream about ending the tampon tax when I grew up. I’d never even heard of the tampon tax. In fact, our school careers advisor suggested us girls should aspire to careers such as wedding planning, while the boys should aim to be business managers or politicians.

*

E

y

E

-

r

O

l

L

!

*

15

It wasn’t as though I had nothing to speak up against. Believe me, there was plenty I wanted to change! The problem was I never thought I really could change anything.

All I knew was that changing the world sounded pretty far-fetched. What could I, an average person, do anyway? My parents had always reminisced about their generation, which changed the world through rock ’n’ roll. In comparison, my friends and I didn’t seem too interested in shaking things up, or so I thought . . .

It’s confession time: I hate revision. (Surprise!) When I was studying for my university finals that extremely rainy summer I just could not concentrate. I would take any opportunity to be distracted. Luckily my friends felt the same and were posting articles and obscure documentaries all over their social media feeds that happily sent me down an internet rabbit hole for a long time.

16

And that’s when it came to me:

ThE InTernEt Is OUr

genErAtIoN’s supErPoWeR.

We hAve rEdEfInEd

the wOrLd bY creAtInG

a nEw oNe oNlInE.

17

While the internet has enabled us to fill our time

with not exactly valuable activities (hello, kitten videos), it has also given us the power to change the world.

OuR gEnerAtIoN dOes cAre

aBoUt cHaNgIng thInGs

aNd sOlvInG tHe

InStItUtIoNaL pRoBlemS

tHat we fAce bEcauSe

OF oUr gEnDeR, rAcE,

rElIgIoN aNd sexUalItY.

18

Just because we’re not doing so through the same means as those before us doesn’t mean that we aren’t already making our own changes in our own, quieter, new ways.

Eventually I ran out of social media updates. I had to start revising. That made me realize something else. (Come with me down this rabbit hole!) Studying had been impossible for millions of women before me. Women had been excluded from university until barely more than a hundred years ago.

19

When I studied at Oxford I felt this sexism. While men have been studying at the University of Oxford since the 1100s,

It wAs onlY In

tHe 1920S tHAT tHe

InstItUtIoN dEeMeD

wOmEn wOrThY oF

aTtaInInG a unIvErsItY

eDuCatIoN.

Although the institution is making efforts to be progressive, there are many reminders of its past.

The dining halls are lined with pictures

of professors and alumni to inspire students,

but almost all are men.

20

This got me thinking about politics. Did you know that the word ‘democracy’ comes from ancient Greek? The very word combines the words demos δῆμος, which means people and kratos κράτος, which means force or power. But when democracy was born – in Athens in the 5th century BCE – you had to be a man of a certain age and class to be considered a person or citizen of your city-state. From the birth of democracy, women were excluded from the very concept.

dEmOcRaCy?

21

Political realities today continue to discourage women from engaging in politics. Less than a third of UK MPs are female.

OuT OF tHe 193 cOuNtrIeS

tHaT aRe mEmBeRs OF

tHe UnItEd NatIONs

oNLY 16 hAvE a fEmALE

hEaD OF gOvErNmEnT.

ThAT’s jUsT 9 pEr cEnT!

Online, the world is different. The world we have created via the internet can be truly democratic. Virtual institutions like the Open University have offered educational opportunities to men and women equally since it was founded in 1969. The internet’s political institutions have also

22

smashed gender barriers since they began. Perhaps the most striking example is online petitions.

For years I had signed and shared many petitions and campaigns, and I could see they were

super effective! From Lucy-Anne Holmes’s

NO MORE PAGE 3 campaign to Laura Bates’s EVERYDAY SExISM PROJECT, there was no doubt that women were using the internet to change

the world.

One of the world’s leading online petition organizations is chaNgE.ORg. They are amazing.

23

Their UK director, Kajal Odedra tells me that in her experience, women sign, share and support online petitions far more than men do. Women drive change that’s instigated and legitimized by online campaigns. As a result, women truly are winning online. Via the internet, women are changing the world. While the majority of online petitions are started by men, more winning petitions are started by and run by women. In many ways we hold the equivalent of political offices and the power to persuade political decision makers through the internet.

That is pretty astounding. It is new. It is exciting. We do not know where it will lead us yet. That is up to us.

Back on that depressingly

rainy afternoon, my phone

vibrated. I STILL had not started

revising . . . so, I looked at my phone and saw my

friend Verity had sent me a link to an article.

24

ThIs aRtIcLe pReTtY mUcH

cHaNgEd mY lIfE.

It discussed the 5 per cent tax we were paying on period products. At first I presumed this tax must make some sense. If the government backed a tax on period products, then there

must be some logic behind it, right? But I wanted to check the logic, so I began to research the UK’s taxation system (yes, I really was THAT desperate to avoid revising). This was when things started to get annoying . . . and then shocking. I discovered the extent of the absurdities that riddle our taxation system.

25

Since 1973, our government deemed products such as tampons and period pads to be luxury items. Yet they aren’t plated with gold, nor do they come with a side serving of diamonds. They aren’t even an item most of us would want to purchase if we had the choice. Period products are needed by half of the population to engage fully in public life all through the month. It’s as simple as that.

26

While women have paid tax on period products, other more frivolous items have escaped tax altogether. Why? Well, because astonishingly the government appears to have deemed many items more essential than women being able to participate in daily life.

Things such as maintaining private helicopters, eating exotic meats and playing bingo.

27

Of course, period products are essential to people who menstruate. Yet the government deemed them a ‘luxury’. But what makes this story even more astonishing is that the UK was NOT alone in the absurdity of this tax. Oh no. Get this. In Texas, the state government also taxes period products for being ‘luxury’ products, while they have a zero tax rate for what they deem to be more ‘essential’ items. Here’s the shocking part. Such ‘essential’ items include

CoWbOy BoOtS!

28

PeOpLe wHO mEnStRuAtE

wErE beInG tAxEd FOr

hAvInG pErIoDs. I wAs

sHOCkEd. ThEn I gOt aNgRy.

Women have been campaigning to end tampon tax for generations. But they haven’t always been able to utilize the internet or the new online political world. I was gunning to sign a petition to end the tax, but I couldn’t find one.

When I discovered this tax had existed for so long I decided to do something I had never done before.

29

I StArTeD A PetItIOn.

I didn’t think it would be very popular – it was a campaign cocktail of menstruation and taxation after all, not exactly the most thrilling combination of topics!

But I had our generation’s superpower to rely on – the internet – and if I didn’t try to launch this petition now, who would, and when?

I was shocked again: people did get behind my EnD TAMPOn tAX petition. To be more specific, over 320,000 men and women! With this kick-ass cohort of supporters, we got the prime minister to

30

say ‘tampon’ in parliament and eventually ended this tax in the UK and then in Europe. Not only that, but my initial online petition also spurred women from across the world to start their own End Tampon Tax sister petitions, which are now axing the tax in countries scattered across almost every continent, from India to Australia. Even Michelle and Barack Obama offered their support for the campaign!

That was the beginning of the End Tampon Tax campaign. Since then it has been tackling the period taboo and encouraging women to feel more confident and comfortable in their bodies. Period!

The internet offers a new platform upon which to organize, demonstrate our work and speak up. It’s powerful. It makes us distinctly powerful too.

There is power in your voice. There is possibility in the internet. In combining the two, you can change your world.

31

tImE tO

SpEaK Up

So what do you think? I’m

guessing if you picked up this book

in the first place, you were already

interested in some kind of activism. If you

picked it up because of the awesome cover (thanks, Elaine!), then I hope this introduction has given you some things to think about.

This book will arm you with the weapons you need to take down the problems you want to tackle. You can read it from beginning to end,

using the speak up tOoLKIt as a step-by-step guide to creating your own successful campaign, or you can dip in and out, depending on the kind of advice you’re looking for.

32

Remember, you don’t have to launch a global campaign right this second. (You can if you want to, though!) Everyday, small actions can have a big impact. I want you to be confident in your voice, in your views and to give you the tools to make change.

What shocks you in the world? What annoys you? Where do you see injustice that you want to challenge? And who are you to be leading this fight? You are you.

YoU aRe aWeSoMe.

You are unique. You are powerful and your voice matters. It’s time to

33

ChApTeR 2

SpeaK Up ToOlkIt

Now you should be all fired up and ready to speak up. But how? I didn’t know anything about campaigning when I started, and it can seem like an overwhelming task. Who am I to tell the world to change?

I’m mE. AnD yOu’rE yOu.

AnD oUr voIcEs aRe vAlId

aNd ImpoRtAnT.

BuT hOw dO we gEt

oUrSeLvEs hEaRd?

34

Here’s where my speak up toolkit comes in! I’m going to share everything I’ve learned about campaigning with you in this chapter. In my work, I have identified fIvE steps to get you from having an idea to launching a campaign. We’ll cover how to:

1) Be specIfIc: IdEntIfY yOuR GoAlS

2) Be fOcUsEd: fInD yOuR DecIsIOn MaKeRs

3) Be sMaRt: dO yOuR ReSeArCh

4) Be cReAtIve: decIdE oN yOuR PlAtfoRm

5) Be cOnfIdEnT: pLaN yOuR LaUnCh

Each section rounds up with handy action tips for activists.

ArE yOu rEaDy?

LeT’s gO!

35

StEp OnE

Be SpEcIfIc

GoAlS

To launch a killer campaign you must first select a killer, specific campaign goal. This is major. It will form the crux of your campaign. It’s important to get it right! Here’s how to zoom in on your choice of an issue to tackle:

1) In the most

general way

possible

thInK aBoUt

tHe thInGs tHaT

aNnOy yOu.

36

We’ve got to start by thinking big here. Society is filled with inequality. Depending on who we are and where in the world we are born, some groups of people will have greater advantages and opportunities than others.

SaDlY, mAnY oF uS

cOmE uP aGaInSt bArrIeRs.

These barriers vary depending on our race, gender, religion, social class and other things – some are a result of our own life choices, others are just a by-product of who we are and when and where we were born. Sometimes these are called ‘institutional problems’, meaning that they are

a result of how our society has set up institutions like government, schools and industries. And if no one challenges them, these issues just continue.

37

My End Tampon Tax campaign

fell under the institutional

problem of sexism. But I didn’t realize

this at first – not for a long time.

AlL I kNeW

wAs tHaT I wAs

aNnOyEd.

I was annoyed at being catcalled on the street. (FYI if a catcaller is reading this, please save the ‘Hey, sweet cheeks’ for actual legit cats. OK bye.) I was annoyed at the boys at school dominating science, maths and IT while it was presumed I would only like art, food tech and dance. I was annoyed that

38

everyone at school would watch the boys play basketball while nobody supported the sports that us girls played, including Julia (my twin) and me practising taekwondo where we literally kicked ass (FYI Julia earned her black belt and became a pro ninja while I tapped out at green belt – we can’t all be ninjas!). I was annoyed!

Initially I thought that I was annoyed at being a girl. But I wasn’t.

I wAs cOnFuSeD bY tHe

wAyS In whIcH gIrLs aRe

tReAtEd, aNd tHaT bOyS

wErE tReAtEd dIffeReNtly.

Basically I was angry at sexism. That’s when I knew I had to change something. I knew I wanted to help tackle the institutional problem of sexism.

39

BuT wHaT cOuld I do?

This question sat with me for a few years. I knew I couldn’t just start a movement calling for sexism to do like a dinosaur and instantaneously become extinct but I wasn’t really sure why. For years I was forming these questions unconsciously, challenging the status quo in my mind, and slowly

I lEaRnEd tO

rEcOgnIzE InStAnCeS oF

sExIsM In eVeRyDaY lIfE.

WhIcH aNnOyEd mE.

EvErY. DaY.

Since then I’ve realized something. Sexism is complicated. It’s not a single thing, but rather

40

a large array of many specific issues. It’s the media’s hyper-sexualization of women that adds to this concept we call ‘sexism’.

It’s tHe pReSuMptIoN

tHaT CeO’S wIlL bE mAlE.

It’s tHe mAsS sExUAL

hArAsSmEnT OF wOmEn.

It’s tHe sIgnIfIcAnT pAy

gAp tHaT sEpArAtEs

tHe sExEs.

All of these examples of gender injustices strengthen the wider concept that we call sexism.

41

This can be applied to racism, ableism, ageism and many other awful-isms, and these are all big, institutional problems, which reveal themselves everywhere from many, many smaller everyday actions and big policy decisions.

If thIs aNnOyS yOu tOO,

tHeN gOoD.

It sHoULD!

Never stop being shocked and annoyed by the problems that hold people back. But always remember that

yOu hAvE tHe pOwEr

tO cHaNgE tHeM.

Just like my twin sister always tells me: ‘We can do anything.’ Try to think about exactly what it is that

42

annoys you, and which institutional problem you might want to tackle through campaigning. Do you want to help reduce racism, sexism or classism? Maybe you want to protect the environment, save animals or support people with disabilities? There are lots of things to be shocked and annoyed by. Choosing just one or maybe a few barriers to tackle can be really difficult. I chose to focus on the problem that I had the most experience of battling – sexism.

This is important to remember. Just like most other institutional problems, thousands of issues constitute sexism throughout almost all societies across the globe. To truly get rid of such problems we need to tackle these more specific issues, one at a time.

2) NaRrOw yOuR fOcUs:

fInD yOuR sPecIfIc IsSuE

Now we get to the important part: choosing the right issue for you to tackle. This is exciting. This is the moment that you get to choose the focus of your campaign.

43

While all issues will look different – whether they’re examples of sexism or any other institutional problem – all issues that make killer first campaign goals have certain things in common. Above all, they’re really specific. While I want to lobby to

‘end sexism’ (because, wouldn’t that be great?), it’s too large an issue and too unwieldy to create practical change. There’s no silver bullet that can defeat sexism overnight. Sexism is far too vague and large a problem for any one person to bring it down singlehandedly. So we have to break it down.

A specific and effective campaign goal might be to end a particular law or policy that exacerbates sexism or legitimizes sexist views.

ThAt’s rIgHt –

tHaT’s wHaT mY TaMpOn

TaX cAmPaIgN tArGeTeD!

44

We were specific about one area of legislation that unfairly taxed menstruating people.

Now, sometimes, there’s no pleasing some people. We got asked what good one little campaign goal like tampon tax was when sexism at large still exists. This is frustrating, but you will definitely encounter such people on your

campaigning journey, so I want you to be prepared with a kick-ass answer! If someone challenges you like this, for example, they say, ‘What use is lobbying to tighten street harassment laws? Why don’t you try to ban sexism?’

Try not to roll your eyes. Ask them if

they would suggest we stop researching

cures for breast cancer, or any individual

cancers, because instead we should really be

trying to cure death? Chances are, they will agree that such a suggestion would be ridiculous and impossible. Similarly, we can’t cure society of sexism without treating the issues that cause it.

45

I like to think

of sexism as if it were a tree.

Yes, that’s right! If sexism is

a tree, then as campaigners, we

are mighty tree surgeons! To take down the tree of sexism and get to the roots of the problem (quite literally!) we need to tackle its branches one at a time. Each branch represents a specific example of the wider problem of sexism. Once all of these examples are solved, and we have subsequently hacked at each branch of our sexism tree, then we will be left with nothing but its trunk! The tree would be no more. We would have won!

Whichever wider problem you are helping to solve, whether it’s sexism, racism, anti-Semitism or something entirely different, you too are acting like a mighty tree surgeon. You are working

46

towards cutting down

your problem as if it were

a tree. Each super specific campaign

you run will do an amazing job in cutting down

a branch of your chosen tree of problems. Soon

they will all be taken down to the ground!

Just like campaigning trans activist/author Charlie Craggs says:

Ending tampon tax was a killer first campaign goal/perfect branch for me because it was really specific. Ending tampon tax was about axing a particular tax policy. It was tangible. It was something I could pinpoint and I felt confident that I could help to dislodge it.

‘We might not be able to

change the world on our own

but if we all do our bit to

change the world, the world

will change.’

47

What will your first campaign goal be?

YoU cAn cHaNgE aNyThInG,

aNyWhErE In tHe wOrLd.

What are you passionate about? What example of the institutional problem that annoys and shocks you do you want to bring to an end once and for all? There is so much to choose from here. It might be helpful to draw your issue as if it were a tree so that you can see all of its branches. Then you can choose which one to pick first!

Perhaps you might want to change Wimbledon’s tennis dress code, which for some bizarre reason currently encourages female tennis players to wear skirts rather than shorts (they’re athletes and they play tennis to win, not to be sexualized – am I right?), or maybe you want to lobby for the creation of a legal definition of ‘stalking’ (yep, that’s right, the law deals with stalking so badly

48

that it STILL isn’t strictly legally defined). Perhaps your local train station is not accessible for disabled people or maybe your local park is filled with statues of men with no female representation at all and you want to fix these things. Well, you can! Whatever your goal,

aNyThInG Is pOssIbLe

when you put your mind to it. Always

remember that you can do anything and that

no problem is too big to be tackled by

a mighty change-maker and tree surgeon,

just like you!

3) WrItE It dOwN!

I suggest you keep notes throughout this toolkit. Not only will this help you organize your campaign, but it will keep you focused and be an awesome record of all your hard work. If your motivation is ever flagging, you can look back through your notes to see how far you’ve come!

49

The goal is your inspiration. The goal is your driving force. Always keep it close to your heart. Never forget what you’re aiming for.

You’ll find my action tips for activists over the next four steps. Here are your first ones:

ActION tIpS fOr ActIvIsTs

1. Think big, think broadly, think about the

institutional problems that annoy you

in the world. Think about which

problem you want to help change

(e.g. ‘sexism’)

2. Narrow that down to identify your

campaign goal. Make that goal specific,

make it tangible (e.g. End Tampon Tax)

and . . .

3. Write it down!

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StEp TwO

Be FoCuSeD

DecIsIOn MaKeRs

You’ve reached our second step to making changes! You’re on your way to building your very own campaign, but to make sure you’re confident and passionate about your issue there are a few pieces of prep that need to be taken care of first.

It’s time to find out who you are targeting. This step is all about identifying who your decision maker(s) are. Your decision maker(s) hold the power to implement the change that you want to see. They are the people, person, organization or governing body that you will need to lobby. They are the ones you ultimately need to persuade to make your change.

51

This may seem pretty straightforward but trust me, it is not always as simple as it sounds. Here’s how I discovered who my decision makers were, just to showcase how tricky it can be!

ThE TaMpOn TaX

dEcIsION mAkErS:

Once I found my issue of tampon tax I started to wonder who my decision makers were. I figured I would have to try to instigate a national change, but I had no idea how tax worked. Was there some

form of national tax lord I should be lobbying?

You won’t believe this, but I found there really was a national tax lord that I needed to lobby! This being’s official title is the Chancellor of the Exchequer and in 2014 his name was George Osborne. He was my decision maker.

52

To increase my chances of getting any kind of a response from the chancellor, who is presumably perpetually very busy, I did three things at once: I sent a letter to my local MP asking for his support and advice, I contacted the chancellor directly asking if he would change our taxation policy on period products, and I promoted an online petition via social media to gather as many signatures as possible. This all paid off! I got responses from both my local MP and the chancellor’s office (we’ll talk about this in Step Three).

Once we hit 10,000

signatures on the

petition, politicians

started to take

notice of us.

The first to contact

change.org to support our petition was

the amazing Stella Creasy MP, and others soon followed, including the badass Paula Sherriff MP. I was lucky enough to be able to meet with both

53

of these superwomen,

who gave us unwavering

support and advice

throughout the campaign.

I still meet with Paula

Sherriff today to plot

future campaigns! Both

of these MPs changed the course of our petition.

Their support was invaluable. Similarly, if an MP

ever asks to meet with you about your petition, then go for it!

BuT rEaChInG OUr dEcIsION

mAkEr wAs nOT QuItE aS

eASY aS THaT. Oh nO.

In 2015, I discovered that tampon tax was not just a UK issue. The European Union (EU) influences certain rules in all member states and regulates some taxation across all 28 EU member countries.

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In 2015 this included the UK,

and it included the tampon

tax. My heart broke. For over

a year we had been trying to

influence the WRONG decision

maker! I wondered whether I had

let down all of the amazing people who

had signed my campaign and believed that together,

we could end tampon tax? I worried that I had

wasted everyone’s time. I felt like a failure.

Then I thought of

something my ninja

twin had told me.

She said that:

I soon realized that I needed to embrace this news and follow the new direction we had to move in.

I began to target my new decision maker, the EU. This change in direction boosted our support base. Maybe these new supporters thought that because

‘Whenever I felt

I had failed I just

needed to move in

a new direction.’

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this was such a weird and complicated issue we needed more support. And

they were right, we did! Soon wE hIT 200,000 sIGNATuRES! This made a HUGE difference. Finally

George Osborne announced his

support for team End Tampon Tax! He was unable to axe tampon tax in the UK, as we discovered this was actually under the EU’s jurisdiction, but that doesn’t mean he gave up. Oh no. Instead he did something AMAZING! In his Autumn Statement of 2015, the chancellor launched the Tampon Tax Fund, which has given £15m (the same amount the government earned annually in tampon tax revenue) a year to female-focused charities ever since. This has funded lots of important projects, including a brilliant drive to improve gynae cancer research by charity, The Eve Appeal. It has changed lives.

ThAt’s PReTtY kIcK-aSs!

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Then, something even more BADASS happened.

ThE tHeN PrImE mInIsTeR

dEcIdEd tO sUPPoRt Us.

No wAy, rIgHt? YeS wAy!

HeRe’s hOw:

In 2016, the EU referendum was called. The prime minister was under pressure to prove that the EU is progressive and helpful. He must have thought ‘What better way to prove this than by ending tampon tax?’. YES, David Cameron, our thoughts exactly! So he went to the EU and proposed a motion to all 28 of its member states. This motion would allow all EU countries to lower their taxes on period products to their lowest national taxation rate, which means 0 per cent for the likes of the UK. It passed with the unanimous support of all member countries.

ThIs day was EpIc!

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A few days later, David Cameron made a speech in the House of Commons. He announced the END of tampon tax! Despite all of the many setbacks we faced and complications over finding our decision makers, we had finally WON! For the first time EVER, a UK prime minister uttered the word ‘tampon’ in Parliament – the unrivalled highlight of my life so far – and we knew we were on the road to success.

What I learned from this was that mistakes aren’t always as scary or campaign-shattering as they might appear at first. Much to the contrary, mistakes can be fixed and they might even end up strengthening your campaign. Campaigns evolve. They can change if you find you’re lobbying the wrong decision maker.

YoU jUsT fInD oUt wHo tHe

rIgHt dEcIsIon mAker Is

aNd gO aftEr tHeM. RuN!

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That was our (somewhat bumpy) journey to finding our decision makers. To find out who your decision maker is, you’ll need to decide what kind of campaign you want to run. There are three buckets that campaigns will generally fall into and each needs a different approach, because each will have different decision makers. These buckets are: political, social and commercial change. Here are a few ideas on how to find your campaign focus:

1) pOlItIcal CamPaIgNs

Political campaigns are badass. They seek changes to policies, laws and technical things like funding. To find out who your political decision makers are you need to ask yourself what level of political change you’re seeking: local, national or (let’s think big here!) international.

LOCal

Lots of campaigns that make local things happen benefit entire communities. Local changes are incredibly impactful. They’re important. If you’re

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pursuing local changes, such as a change

in detention policy within your school or

more mental health support for your

community, then your decision maker will probably be a local governing organization, like your school governing body or local council. They are the ones who hold the ultimate power to instigate your local change.

NatIONaL

If you’re making a campaign that will change a national law or policy (just like my End Tampon Tax campaign), then you will usually lobby the government. More specifically a particular government minister might have the ultimate power to make your change. For example, it was the Chancellor of the Exchequer who technically ended tampon tax for us (after our round-Europe detour!). Try to find the right department for your campaign, whether it’s the Department for

Education, the Government Equalities Office,

the Home Office or an entirely different

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department, and then target the minister

responsible for this area of government.

InTeRnAtIONaL

Finally, international political campaigns (like those that want to change international laws) tend to change the world on a slightly more removed

level. Changing international law often does not directly change people’s lives immediately. But it does allow for other campaigns to utilize these changes and influence their national laws which will change lives. Don’t be discouraged: if you’re hoping to change an international law then

you’re enabling others to change their lives. You’re still doing amazing things.

If you’re going to implement international changes, then you’ll probably be lobbying an international organization, such as the UN, NATO or the EU. These bodies can be really complicated. However, they will all usually have ministers or individuals that lead departments dedicated to

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certain changes. For example, I found out that I needed to lobby the European Commissioner for Finance to instigate the tampon-tax-ending change to EU law that secured my campaign’s UK victory. Similarly, if you find the department that relates most directly to your campaign then you can identify your decision maker(s) too.

ToP tIp: If you ever worry that you’re not

capable of making your change, think of my papa’s

favourite saying: ‘if you think you are too small

to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with

a mosquito.’ Speaking from experience of living

in mosquito-filled Portugal, it’s true!

Political changes don’t have to be large. They can be everyday actions. This could include conversations with your friends and family about taboo subjects that really shouldn’t be taboo (like periods!), hush-hush topics like mental health and self-harm, or even something entirely different – like countries introducing new laws in support of the LGBTQ+

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community, including India, which decriminalized gay sex just last year! Talking about these topics is so important. It spreads awareness of them. It gets people thinking about the problem you’re interested in solving.

Even ‘liking’ pages on Facebook,

‘following’ a change-maker in

your field of interest on Twitter or

‘reposting’ an article about the

problem you’re tackling on Instagram makes a big difference. You’re spreading your message.

You’re supporting other tree surgeons/change-makers. Vocal campaigners empower other campaigners. Ripples become waves.

YoUr eVeRyDaY

aCtIoNs cAn mAkE

a HuGe ImPaCt.

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2) ImpaCtfuL sOcIaL cHaNgEs

Some campaigns aren’t dedicated to changing a particular policy or law. They aren’t directed at altering anything tangible. Instead they want to change the ways that we think about something in particular. They are awesome too. For example, some campaigns promote messages of self-love and body positivity (see Chapter 4 for more information!). They want to change the way women in society are viewed and in doing so they hope to

eMPowEr amazInG wOmEn lIkE yOu!

If you’re hoping to instigate a similar change in mindset, then your decision maker will usually be the general public, or perhaps a particular group of people, such as girls. But you CAN make this tangible. Think specifically about what you want.

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