Scottish women to get free pads and tampons if Bill approved

Period poverty might soon be a thing of the past. Well, in Scotland at least.
On Tuesday, the Scottish Parliament approved a plan to make menstrual products available for free in public spaces, such as youth clubs, pharmacies and community centres.

They are the first nation to do so.

Since 2018, a national Scottish policy has ensured pads and tampons are available free-of-charge in schools and universities. This new, more comprehensive plan will cost the country an estimated $31.2 million a year.

According to Reuters, the Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Bill passed with an initial 112 votes in favour, none against and one abstention. It now moves on its second stage, where legislators can propose amendments.

The legislation is a “milestone moment for normalising menstruation in Scotland and sending out that real signal to people in this country about how seriously parliament takes gender equality,” the bill’s proposer, Monica Lennon, said during a debate in Parliament.

She added: “We are changing the culture and it’s really exciting that other countries right around the world are watching very closely to see what we do.”

On average, women typically spend more than Sh201,800 ($2,000) on sanitary products over her lifetime (though numbers may vary depending on local prices).

STRUGGLE TO AFFORD

A quarter of young women struggle to afford sanitary products, a common scenario known as “period poverty”, according to a 2018 survey by Young Scot .

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, where sanitary products are currently taxed at five per cent, Reuters reports, in accordance with European Union tax rates.

After a survey found one in four respondents at Scottish schools, colleges or universities had struggled to access period products, free products became available in schools in 2018/2019.

In the UK, period poverty and menstruation stigma means that ten per cent of girls are unable to afford sanitary products, according to a study by Plan International.

In Kenya, meanwhile, many girls cannot afford sanitary products. In 2014, a UN report said one in ten girls in sub-Saharan Africa missed school during their period.
As a result, some girls reportedly lose 20 per cent of their education, making them more likely to totally drop out of school, according to the report.
Details of how the Scottish government plans to implement the bill are yet to be determined, but it’s no doubt a positive step forward.