Free tampons and sanitary napkins for everyone in Scotland, a world first

From Monday, town halls, schools and universities in Scotland will be legally obliged to provide sanitary pads free of charge.

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In Scotland, tampons and sanitary pads will be available free of charge from Monday 15 August.

With the entry into force of a law against menstrual precariousness, all women will be able to benefit from it, a world first on this scale according to the local government.

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With our correspondent in London

,

“ 

 ”, welcomed Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Prime Minister.

From Monday, town halls, schools and universities will be legally obliged to provide period protection free of charge.

Hygienic protection was, as in France, already free for female students.

But making them accessible on this scale is a world first, assures the Scottish government, led by the separatists.

A movement carried by a group of high school girls

This approach fights against menstrual precariousness, when the cost of sanitary protection makes them difficult to access.

A study by the newspaper

had estimated this cost at ten euros per month.

As a result, women who cannot afford it no longer go to school when they have their period, and this repeated absenteeism becomes a factor in dropping out of school.

In Scotland, the movement against menstrual poverty was led by a group of high school girls, Lady Business.

The girls had launched a campaign by filling toilet dispensers with hygiene products and organized a rally outside the Scottish Parliament.

In January 2021, the UK scrapped the 'buffer tax' on all period products, but in 2019 more than half of teenage girls (52%) missed school due to their period.

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