The NSW Department of Education has announced that free menstrual products like pads and tampons will be provided to public school students.
$30million will be funded towards the initiative which aims to ensure that the education of females is not impacted by their period according to the NSW government. Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said that it’s extremely important that young girls be provided with support in regards to their periods.
“Getting your period should not be a barrier to education,” Ms Mitchell said.
“This program is providing schools with dispensers, tampons, and pads for free and is supporting young women’s health, engagement, and attendance at school.
“I want our young women to feel comfortable in knowing they have access to free sanitary products when they need.”
The program will be piloted at 31 schools across the South Western Sydney and Dubbo regions. A similar initiative was introduced to Victorian government schools in 2019 where it was reported in The Age that over 27 million free pads and tampons were to be provided to schools every year.
Other states have yet to follow suit, but the Queensland government has put forward the idea for Queensland public schools to have a Dignity Vending Machine. The project is set to give students free access to period products supplied in conjunction with the Share the Dignity charity which would encompass a three-year partnership and an investment of $2.5 million.
Share the Dignity was launched in an effort to combat period poverty within Australia and currently have 282 Dignity Vending Machines around Australia that contain packs of two pads and six tampons. Founder of Share the Dignity Rochelle Courtenay said that the partnership will help to eradicate period poverty in Queensland schools.
“Schools play an important role in promoting menstrual health and normalising periods,” Ms Courtenay said.
“Changes like this can bring a cultural shift and mitigate the potential negative impact of lack of access to sanitary products and stigma around periods on young people’s education.”
It is expected that free menstrual products will be available in NSW schools by June this year.
