Pupils praised for helping reduce stigma around sanitary products

Pupils in Stirling have been praised for opening up the conversation on periods and sanitary products .

It follows schemes promoted by Stirling Council and the Scottish Government to make free sanitary products available in schools.

Stirling High headteacher Paul Cassidy said pupils there formed a leadership group named the‘Panda Posse’to make sure everyone across the school community was aware of sanitary provision.

Their initiative won praise last week when Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell and president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities Alison Evison visited the school.

There, the Scottish Government announced a further investment of £5.5 million in a nationwide scheme, which started in 2018 and allows pupils and students to access free sanitary products.

Ms Campbell and Councillor

Evison listened to feedback from girls at Stirling High and other schools in the area on their experiences of the initiative, along with a council-run pilot which had preceded it.

They heard how pupils had employed a number of innovative methods to reduce stigma of the issue in schools and communities.

Ms Campbell said:“Being able to access free sanitary products is fundamental to equality and human dignity. I’ve heard first hand from pupils about the positive impact of having products easily available at school. It takes away the worry of being caught short or missing a day of school if they don’t have products available at home. It’s really important that no one gets embarrassed about periods and parents and children, boys and girls can all openly talk about them.”

Stirling Council had funded a successful pilot of the scheme at Stirling High, and Bannockburn Primary School and High School in 2018.

At the start of the pilot, Stirling High conducted a survey of pupils, in which 30.1 per cent said they were ‘quite’or‘very’uncomfortable about discussing sanitary products. At the end of the process, 91.1 per cent responded‘yes’or‘maybe’on whether they felt it was now easier to talk about periods.

In August 2018, the Scottish Government became the first government in the world to make free sanitary products available to all pupils and students.