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Gender
9 comments
Scotland has become the first country in the world to make period products free for all. The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill puts a legal duty on local authorities to ensure anyone who needs period products can obtain them for free. Scotland have made period products collectible from schools, libraries, community centres, youth clubs, pharmacies and even pubs and restaurants. This is a progressive and vital step in the right direction to end period poverty and improve the lives all women.
Action Aid defines period poverty as “a global issue affecting women and girls who don’t have access to safe, hygienic sanitary products, and/ or who are unable to manage their periods with dignity”. Such products include sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cups etc.. Although most may think period poverty only occurs in the poorest areas of the world, it is a reality everywhere. Period poverty is not just about availability but also affordability.
27% of women are unable to afford period products which forces them to improvise creating makeshift products or even wearing products for longer than medically allowed which can have life threatening consequences. When a tampon remains in the body for a prolonged period of time bacteria has increased chances of developing Toxic Shock Syndrome, when toxins enter the bloodstream through the uterus or vaginal lining. Furthermore, periods aren’t just an economic and medical nightmare for some girls, but a social nightmare for nearly all girls. The taboo is so prominent that 1 in 2 people would describe periods as unpleasant and disgusting. For such reasons, 59% of school girls life by making up alternate excuses when in pain or needing to dash to the loo. These statistics are appalling and must be rectified by making period products free and therefore decreasing the stigma through normalisation.
Although complete abolition did not occur due to EU rules, in 2001, the UK progressively reduced ‘tampon tax’ to 5% as it was a clear abomination that period products be seen as a ‘non-essential luxury item’. With Brexit done it is now more important than ever to push for the complete abolition of this tax and even the availability of free period products. Since Covid-19, the UK government are offering free period products for state schools which is fantastic progress, however, it was established as an ‘opt-in’ scheme with a clear lack of advertisement as only 40% of schools placed orders whilst most stated they were unaware of the scheme.
Period last, on average, five days and so cost about £8 a month. This is a cost that some women simply cannot afford. But why should they have to? Periods are a biological occurrence that have become wrongly commercialised.
Anderson, Jen (2019). ‘How long can you safely leave a tampon in for?’, Healthline. Accessible at: https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-can-you-leave-a-tampon-in
Comms, Ginger (2019). ‘Bloody Big Lunch’, Hey Girls. Accessible at: https://www.heygirls.co.uk/bbb-post/
Diamond, Claire (2020). ‘Period poverty: Scotland first in world to make period products free’, BBC News. Accessible at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-51629880
Editors (2017). ‘Plan International UK’s research on period poverty and stigma’, Plan International. Accessible at: https://plan-uk.org/media-centre/plan-international-uks-research-on-period-poverty-and-stigma
Editors (2020). ‘Period Poverty: Schools ‘not aware’ they can order free tampons’, BBC News. Accessible at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53894172
It feels like you are making two separate points here. How do you think making period products free relates to the reduction in the stigma and taboo around periods?
I disagree. I believe that they should not be taxed, or should be taxed like other medical equipment. Rather than having an additional tax on them just because of what they are. Having period products be free creates a few problems. Who is going to pay for them? Well, the simple answer would be that everyone would. It would have to be an additional tax on everyone. If they were free we also wouldn't have as many options because it wouldn't be seen as an industry where companies can make money. There are many organic pads and tampons, there are even cups and other new(ish) devices on the market today because it is profitable. I personally would only use products that are organic, because then I know there are no additional chemicals in the products. Without a market where companies can make money off of these products, I doubt organic products would be in circulation. They would use the cheapest products available.
I hadn't thought of it this way before, and appreciate the new perspective you gave me. However, when you use a public restroom, do you pay for the toilet paper? For your natural excretions that you cannot control? No. Yes, you have to pay at home for your own supply, but never in a public space. Here, period products should be free.
Yes you do pay for them. The toilets are either paid for by taxation if they are public or paid for by consumers if a private business.
Someone still has to buy the toilet paper and put it out there.
You need water to live, but you have to buy it. You need food to live, but you have to buy it. Period products are lower down on the list of biological necessities so I don’t see what makes them different
Toilet roll isnt free and that is higher on the biological list as that covers both genders.
All Scotland did was force Men to pay for Period Products through taxes as well
Regardless of what it is, it is still a product that has to be produced and distributed. The cost of production and transport has to be covered by someone. You're going to be paying for it over the counter directly, via subscription or through taxation. And if not you, someone else is footing the bill.
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