Why Period Products Should Be Free

By: Isabella Tascona

Before reading: Not all women menstruate, and not all people who menstruate are women.

Image: Scottland become the first country to make free period products the law

The debate on the accessibility of menstrual products has been an ongoing topic for many years as the push to end period poverty has become more and more prevalent all around the world. But throughout the enduring fight, we’ve seen a light at the end of the tunnel as Scotland became the first country to provide free universal period products. The country has become exemplary in how we can achieve better access to period products and end the very real epidemic of period poverty in the world.

With the passing of the Period Products (Free Provisions) Bill, Scotland achieved a feat many debates have tried to make happen: free, universal period products. This bill states that all schools, colleges, and universities must provide pads, tampons, and other products in bathrooms for all period-having people in said facilities. The Scottish government will also have the power to make other public bodies provide these necessities as well. This bill has become an enthusiastic hope for period poverty activists, as it's proven that this is a possible and frankly

necessary goal to accomplish

Period poverty is a very serious and everlasting issue. According to a survey of 2000 women aged from 18-55 by INTIMINA, 55% admitted to needing menstrual products while being unable to access them. In fact, the average woman spends $6360 on period care in her lifetime, and that number may vary still based on personal needs. 79% of these women have had to make sacrifices to afford necessities, such as food or paying house bills. Sometimes having your period can impose on your school or work, as it may affect your concentration or make you unable to attend at all. This potentially may hinder you further in the future in terms of education or opportunities at work. In some schools in India, girls may even drop out of school altogether due to the lack of period support. Period poverty affects access for medical health conditions linked to menstrual health (such as endometriosis), young girls missing school, single parents or low-income families unable to consistently afford period products, etc. Homeless people who have a period are disproportionally affected. Women’s shelters are often short on menstrual products and rarely receive those types of donations.

Image: Shutterstock

Without a pad, tampon, or menstrual cup available, they are either forced to steal or use whatever they have at hand; plastic bags, old cloth, cotton balls, socks. The list goes on.

In the United States, state laws have decreed that period products should not be exempt from sales or taxes. Many of those laws are decided by men who have never experienced menstrual pains or the financial, social, and emotional toll it may carry, or by women who are fortunate enough to be unbothered at the thought of buying a box of tampons or some Advil to ease the pains. This sort of privilege creates a divide, a bridge between two separate experiences that is very difficult to cross. In fact, some countries even consider these products a luxury, taxing them up to 18%. In a study done by Nancy Kramer, the woman behind the campaign “Free the tampons” who provide period products to public restrooms, it would cost less than $4.67 per female student or employee to provide free menstrual products annually. Imagine that. Less than an expensive cup of coffee. For many companies, this is an attainable goal to realize, however it is not being done. Introducing free products for those who need them would ensure that EVERY school, university, college, or business has enough resources to provide for the women, trans males, or gender non-conforming individuals who need them.