The Scottish Parliament passed this law unanimously. In France, 1.7 million women lack sanitary protection due to a lack of resources.
- The 121 members of the local parliament of Holyrood all approved this text.
- In response to numerous requests from associations, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior Marlène Schiappa also wants to put in place a strategy to fight against menstrual precariousness.
- 12% of young girls do not go to school regularly for lack of sanitary protection.
This is a world first, which French feminists have been demanding for a long time. In Scotland, MPs voted Tuesday, November 24 in favor of free access to periodic protection. “I am proud to have voted for this groundbreaking law, which makes Scotland the first country in the world to provide free sanitary protection to all who need it”, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon posted on Twitter.
“A Signal to the World”
“We all agree that no one should have to worry about their next reusable tampons or pads,” Scottish Labor MP Monica Lennon, who was behind the bill, also told parliament. “It is a proud day for Scotland and a signal to the world that it is possible to achieve free universal access to sanitary protection”, she believes.
The cost of the measure is estimated at 9.7 million pounds (about 11 million euros) per year. Concretely, schools, colleges and universities will have to provide a range of periodic protections free of charge in their toilets. The Scottish Government may also require public bodies to provide these products free of charge.
In response to numerous requests from associations, the mMinister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior Marlène Schiappa also wants to put in place a strategy to fight menstrual poverty. “Yes, women’s periods must become subjects of public policy: free access to hygienic protection for those in difficulty, transparency / composition, recycling, industrial commitment, innovation: let’s break the taboo”, could we read in 2019 on his twitter account.
More than one in three women do not change enough protection
The idea is to experiment with free sanitary protection for precarious people in schools, hospitals and prisons. This mission was entrusted to Senator Patricia Schillinger (LREM), who must study “objectives and methods” the implementation of such a system in several “collective places.
Working poor, students, homeless… According to an Ifop survey for Solidarity Donations, 1.7 million women in France lack sanitary protection. More than one in three women do not change enough protection or use unsuitable products, increasing their risk of toxic shock. 12% of young girls do not go to school regularly for this reason. 
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