Neighborhood-backed ‘tampon library’ stolen for second time

Perhaps it was a case of period envy.

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A “tampon library” offering free menstrual products to passersby outside a southeast London home was stolen for the second time Sunday morning. The thieves may not understand how period products work because they took the whole box and the post that holds it upright.

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Footage provided by the library’s owner, Stevie Brocksom, shows the little wooden box on a metal post being yanked out of the ground by two people on Feb. 4 just before 3 am The individuals ran off with it across the street.

“I’m hurt by that. I’m frustrated. I’m tired of being targeted,” Brocksom said. “I’m not going to be quiet. I’m not going to sit down. Because if it’s not me, it’s going to be someone else.”

Brocksom, founder of Period Equity Project London, told The Free Press the theft was reported to the police, but Brocksom hadn’t heard back from them as of Wednesday.

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The menstrual products, available free to those who otherwise can’t afford them, are clearly not the problem, and the community “respects” and supports the project, Brocksom said. “If people want to just steal the products, they would steal the products. They wouldn’t care about the actual thing itself.”

The library, painted with a rainbow flag, had been regularly refilled by the neighbors, who donate to keep the box stored up for whoever needs it. It was located on Shelborne Place, near Pond Mills Road.

“I’m once again left explaining to the recipients, who keep showing up and looking for the tampon library and its products, that it was stolen again and that they will have to message me for products,” Brocksom said.

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The first time the box was vandalized, in September 2023, Brocksom found it covered in “Hands off our kids” stickers, referring to the movement protesting gender-affirming policies in schools.

In October, the tampon library box was targeted again, sawed off at the ground at 3 am and stolen, Brocksom said.

This time, replacing the library, which costs $300 to make, is not financially possible for Brocksom.

“If there’s anyone else who wants to host it, I’ll continue to stock it, but the front yard is no longer open to the community for the safety of my family,” Brocksom said.

The project’s Facebook page – where Brocksom updates the community when the library is refilled – has more than 2,000 followers but is a target of “horrifying” transphobic comments from people who don’t rely on the donations, Brocksom said.

Other menstrual products, including menstrual cups, pregnancy tests, incontinence products and breast pads for lactating parents, also are available for pickup from volunteers across the city.

“I’m transgender and because we (the project) advertise that, the menstrual products are for anyone who bleeds, including non-binary and trans men, I’ve become the target,” Brocksom said.

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