We’ll be the first in world to end this poverty.. we’re leading the way. Period
Scotland is set to become the first country in the world to make period poverty history.
MSPs are expected to vote in pioneering laws on Tuesday requiring sanitary products to be freely accessible to anyone who needs them.
The Bill comes after a three-year campaign by Labour’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon, which has won cross-party support.
It will mean schools, colleges and universities will need to provide tampons and other items in toilets, while local authorities will also be required to have a scheme available.
Lennon said: “This is a bold and g round- brea k ing piece of legislation. I hope it will inspire other countries to follow our lead and normalise the notion that period poverty just isn’t acceptable.
“No girl or woman should have to worry about being able to afford or have access to period products.
”There have been great initiatives in other parts of the world where different regions or sectors have taken action, but this legislation is comprehensive.
“It will tackle provision within education settings but also ensure that all women can access products i f they need them, no matter where they are.
“It really shouldn’t be a big deal. When you go into the t o i l e t , you expect toi let paper to be there and you should be able to expect period product s as well.”
The Period Products (Free P r o v i s i o n) (Scotland) Bill was introduced by Lennon in April last year and is expected to cost about £8.7million a year.
As well as making sanitary products freely available, it aims to tackle period stigma and the effects of periods on education.
The new laws will place a duty on government ministers to ensure products are made available free of charge on a universal basis.
The emphasis wi l l b e on schools, colleges and
CALL Lennon on campaign trail, top, and supporters plans to address the issue of people having to go to food banks for period products because that’s what was happening.
“In the early stages, we were having to prove that this was a real problem, that period poverty existed.
“Part of proving our case was encouraging people to share their stories, which was di f f icult , especially for younger people who had perhaps missed out on school or work.
“We are now at a place where, thanks to people speaking out, it is accepted that period poverty has to change.
“The new provision will not be means tested. That is real ly important because people don’t want to have to talk about their personal situation.”
Consultation on the draf t proposal for the Bill took place in late 2017 and the final proposal gained support from 51 MSPs across all political parties after init ial ly being rejected by a parliamentary committee.
Lennon added: “It has been great to work with the Cabinet Secretary Aileen Campbell and she has been really helpful in getting this over the line.”
In 2018, the Scottish Government pledged £ 5.2million to provide students at schools, colleges and universities with sanitary products during the 2018-19 academic year.
This f igure was increased to £5.5million to continue the policy in 2019-20 and a further £ 4million was then made available to local authorities to expand the roll-out.
In 2018, £ 500,000 was given to charity FareShare to provide free period products to low-income households and last October, Campbell announced an additional £50,000 for sports clubs.
This problem is real and many girls and women suffer in silence