Catalonia to provide all women with free reusable period products
Some 1.8m people entitled to menstrual cups and underwear as part of new government program
Catalonia will be providing all menstruating women with free reusable period products as part of the Menstrual Equity Plan approved on Tuesday.
This new program will be rolled out between 2023 and 2025 and means some 1.8m people across Catalonia will be entitled to free reusable menstrual cups and underwear, equality and feminism minister Tània Verge announced ahead of International Women's Day on Wednesday.
Catalan authorities will also set up non-reusable period product dispensers to provide women in need with pads and organic cotton tampons.
These dispensers will be located in schools, universities, youth centers, primary care centers, social services offices, Ferrocarril train stops, drug rehabilitation centers, cultural venues, and facilities managed by the feminism and equality department.
Reusable menstrual products will be able to be picked up at yet-to-be-determined locations across Catalonia.
According to Verge, it is a matter of "social justice to combat the period poverty that affects 1 in 5 women in this country and that, given the cost of living crisis, could end up affecting even more."
The minister also described these measures as a matter of climate justice as around 9,000 tons of period product waste is generated in Catalonia every year.
Catalonia already has a "my period my rules" campaign that distributes menstrual cups to students which was extended to all public and semi-public secondary schools this year.
Fighting period and menopause stigma
The new government plan also includes measures to do away with menstruation and menopause-related stigma through awareness campaigns targeting the general population as well as specific segments.
Primary, secondary, and special education students will be taught about menstruation in schools and in workshops for families.
There will also be workshops on menstruation and menopause at adult education centers, juvenile detention centers and prisons, as well as hospitals, youth centers, summer camps, community centers, centers that provide specialized services for victims of gender-based violence, and those that do so for the LGBTI+ community.