Tampons and pads will be available free of charge in Scotland from Monday to all menstruating men. Local governments and educational institutions are then obliged to offer such products to combat menstrual poverty. A law passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2020 – the first of its kind worldwide – will then take effect. This was announced by the government of Scotland on Sunday morning.
Menstrual poverty, called ‘period poverty’ in English, is the phenomenon where people who are menstruating do not have the money to buy the necessary hygiene products.
The Scottish government is proud of being the first country in the world to pass a law to combat menstrual poverty. Meanwhile, the governments of New Zealand and South Korea have followed Scotland, the press release said.
app
An app called ‘PickupMyPeriod’ has been launched to make it easier to find the nearest distribution points. More than a thousand places are already visible on the app, says Celia Hodson, founder of Hey Girlswhich launched PickupMyPeriod.
“Providing free menstrual products is fundamental to equality and dignity and removes the financial barriers to accessing those products,” said Scotland’s Justice Minister Schona Robison in the statement. “This is all the more important now that people are making difficult choices due to the cost of living crisis and we don’t want anyone to be in a position where they don’t have access to menstrual products.”
Lady Business
Since 2018, the Scottish government has been offering sanitary pads and tampons to schools, colleges and universities. The first to speak out about menstrual poverty in Scotland were school girls, united under the name Lady Business. The girls filled their school’s toilet dispensers with hygiene products before launching a campaign, speaking at several schools and holding a meeting in front of the Scottish Parliament.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss out on any of the stars.