AN ABERDEEN project offering free sanitary products to girls and women from low income households, is to be rolled out across the country, after the government agreed a £500,000 deal with charity, FairShare.
The pilot, run by Community Food Initiatives North East, helped 1082 women, two-thirds of whom said they had found it difficult to get hold of towels, cups and tampons in the past.
Some women who could not afford sanitary products told the pilot they were using tissue, rags or nappies as a replacement.
Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said the deal with FairShare would help 18,000 women: “It is unacceptable that anyone in Scotland should be unable to access sanitary products and I am pleased that we are able to work with FareShare to make products available more widely through the services delivered by their partners.”
SNP MSP Gillian Martin, who has long campaigned for free sanitary products for women from low-income homes, described the Government’s announcement as “a watershed moment in the fight against period poverty.
“No woman or girl should be unable to access sanitary products or have to choose between using rags or tissue or being able to put food on the table,” she said.
“Scotland is leading the way on tackling period poverty – in August, the Scottish Government will be the first national government to provide sanitary products free of charge across all schools, colleges and universities. It is up to the UK government to follow our lead.”
Labour MSP Monica Lennon welcomed the extension of the scheme, but called for a statutory requirement to ensure free provision in schools, colleges and universities as well as “placing a duty on the Scottish Government to deliver a free universal system of access”.
“Scotland can be a world leader in tackling period poverty if we are bold enough to take these radical steps,” she said.
The Scottish Government funded the six-month pilot in Aberdeen to explore different options for providing access to free sanitary products “in ways that provide choice and respect dignity, and to better understand the circumstances people are in that mean they cannot access sanitary products”.
At the end of programme, around two-thirds of women who took part gave positive feedback, saying the scheme meant they had more money available to spend on other essential items, and that they felt less worried about having their period.
Research by Women for Independence, released earlier this year, revealed that nearly one in five women have experienced period poverty – defined as struggling to pay for basic sanitary products on a monthly basis.
The most common alternative used was toilet roll.
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