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Stephanie hepner
Edited by: Giannis Papadimitriou
In a historic and unanimous decision, the Scottish Parliament offers free access to menstruation products for all women. These products are already available for free in schools and universities.
“We all agree that it is not right for a woman to worry about whether she can find a tampon when she needs it,” said Labor MP Monica Lennon, who is signing the bill. Scottish Prime Minister Nicholas Stargeon speaks of a “major political intervention for girls and women”. The objective of the legislator is to break a “taboo” in public debate and, at the same time, address the phenomena of discrimination against women.
The next step will be a distribution system that will allow all women to have free access to sanitary pads, tampons and menstrual cups. As of 2019, these products are available free of charge in all schools and educational institutions in Scotland. Commenting on the decision, Mike Retger, director of the German humanitarian organization Plan International, said: “The Scottish Parliament’s decision is groundbreaking and is a great example of equal treatment for men and women. It is an important help to women who they have limited financial means and I hope other countries will follow suit. “
Old newspapers instead of… tampons?
With the new legislation, Scotland becomes a pioneer in the fight against a social phenomenon that experts call “period poverty”. This is the inability of many women to obtain basic personal hygiene products during menstruation due to financial poverty. In search of substitutes, many women are forced to use scraps of cloth or even old newspapers in place of the right products. This is the case even in rich Europe.
According to an earlier survey by Plan International, one in ten girls in the UK cannot afford to buy sanitary pads or tampons, while 14% of girls try to make makeshift menstruation products. About a thousand girls in their teens participated in the research. There had been previous reports in the British media, according to which many girls avoided going to school when they had their periods.
Impact on education, but also on girls’ health
The problem is much more acute in developing countries. In India, only 12% of women have access to menstrual products, according to the NGO Andheri. The rest either do not have the financial means to buy them or are ashamed to ask for them. Many girls are even forced to drop out of school as soon as they start menstruating. But on top of all this, says Mike Retger, “there are consequences for women’s health as they try to replace sanitary pads or tampons with other products.” They often cause inflammation or other health problems. “
Recently, many NGOs have raised public awareness of the problem and are working to address it, for example by outsourcing to local producers to produce vintage products at a lower cost. In Germany, VAT on these products has been reduced to 7% since January. A reduction in indirect taxes is also foreseen in France, Spain, Poland and Austria. Other countries, such as Canada, Australia, India, and Kenya, have completely abolished taxes. In the past, sanitary napkins were taxed as a luxury product. This is exactly the mentality that many women around the world are trying to combat, even with organized protest movements, pointing out that “period is not a luxury.”
