Scotland First Country in the World to Provide Free Tampons

Image credit: Ida Henrich

Scotland has been a pioneer over the past few years, introducing a few great policies and pieces of legislation, including a minimum price for alcohol, free care for the elderly, scrapping tuition fees for university students, and a ban on wild animal circuses. In fact some might say that the Scots are a fairly pioneering nation in general — inventing the bicycle, the steam train and of course the telephone!

Ever since the devolved Scottish Parliament was opened almost two decades ago, the Scots have proven themselves to be policy innovators. And the latest move from one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), Monica Lennon, proves that progressive and sustainable policy change is possible. Lennon has put forward a Members’ Bill to the Scottish Parliament to provide universal free access to sanitary products, in a bid to end period poverty. And while the Bill has not yet passed, the Scottish Government — the executive body responsible for implementing laws — has already made a commitment to providing free tampons and sanitary pads to young people in schools, colleges and universities. This will make Scotland the first country in the world to make sanitary provision a basic right, regardless of income.

Period poverty is an issue which is not at the forefront of everyone’s mind: how people living on low incomes cope with their period each month when they barely have enough money to live on. For most of us period-having humans, this part of our month is a nightmare anyway — with waves of cramps, nausea, mood swings, cravings and headaches. Now imagine taking your premenstrual tension (PMT) dread and tears, and adding the stress and shame of not having any of the necessary products to be able to deal with your period.

The stigma and ‘hush-hush’ attitude around periods — itself a baffling thing in 2018 — is partly responsible for this issue. Fifty percent of the planet’s population will experience periods during their lifetimes, so how can menstruation possibly still be taboo? It has been reported that some young people in the UK have had to ask teachers to buy them tampons, and others have resorted to using socks or even newspapers instead of sanitary products to get through their periods.¹

The originator of the legislation, Labour MSP Monica Lennon, tells us that “Over a woman’s lifetime, sanitary products cost on average more than £5,000, a significant sum for those on low-income. Many cannot afford them and may use inappropriate methods or miss school.”²

The new policy to end period poverty, which is initially being trialled in Aberdeenshire, gives menstruating people from low-income families free sanitary products, which will hopefully begin to improve their quality of life. This new policy will empower those in financial difficulty to get on with their lives without having to stay at home or stress about their periods. And many other organisations and businesses in Scotland are following suit, by providing free sanitary products independently of the proposed legislation.³

I feel enthused by these steps taken by the Scottish Parliament and Government, and I hope that others will follow in Scotland’s footsteps. We should all work towards reducing the stigma attached to periods by talking about our time of the month more and raising the profile of this exciting development for Scotland. 

There are a variety of charities and social enterprises working around the United Kingdom with groups of vulnerable people to provide sanitary products. If you’d like to find out more have a look at the Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE) (which is running the Aberdeenshire pilot), thehomelessperiod.com, and the campaign to end period poverty in Scotland.

Energetic Scottish mummy with a passion for adventure and an insatiable craving for new knowledge! Sophie is obsessed with the sea and the mountains. She loves sitting next to the fire writing poems and going for picnics with her little boy on sunny days. ♥

Ida is a German Cartoonist, Illustrator and Designer based in Scotland. In her own work she explores themes such as sex-education, growing up, and women’s experiences. Her work is written for both men and women to read and aims to start a dialogue between partners, friends, parents and children. Her graphic novella, Minor Side Effects, is currently in its first edition and she hopes to bring out the next soon. Ida is a graduate of Communication Design at the Glasgow School of Art. A big influence on her work is Julie Doucet, with her brilliant autobiographical comics. Ida is currently working on a number of commissions including illustrations for short stories and businesses.