It’s period poverty no more for over 220 public schools in West Australia starting Term 1 next year.
West Australia is the latest state to offer free pads and tampons to secondary female students from Years 7 to 12. Although the cost of the program hasn’t been finalised, it is expected to go to tender and find a provider in October.
The topic of menstrual health is often underdiscussed in reproductive health education, even more so with the real-life problem of period poverty. It’s an issue where low-income women cannot afford or gain access to sanitary products that are otherwise essential to maintaining bodily hygiene.
The term also refers to the increased economic vulnerability women face from the financial burden imposed by menstrual supplies. Offering free sanitary products won’t just help with expenses, but will also keep students engaged in school without having to worry about the next month’s cycle.
"It's about bloody time we've done this in schools," Simone McGurk, Minister for Women's Interests, told ABC News. "For too long, girls and young women have felt embarrassed [and] they often haven't had access to the products they've needed."
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The WA Government is still in the process of figuring out how students will access the products as it looks into how similar initiatives are being carried out in other states. In the meantime, several students have come forward with their own suggestions.
Daisy Edwards of Mt Lawley Senior High School is pushing the use of dispensing machines for the privacy and convenience it provides, telling ABC News that students will be able to “control it themselves, and they can get what they need instead of having to go and ask.”
Victoria was the first jurisdiction in the country to target period poverty in 2020, with South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania following suit in the year after.
Last March, the NSW Government also rolled out a $30 million program to provide menstrual products in the state’s public schools.