As part of a pilot project, the toilets at six Frankfurt schools have been equipped with free menstrual products.

The initiators of the project presented the new equipment at the Schiller School in Sachsenhausen.

From now on, white, rectangular dispensers containing tampons and pads will be placed in the girls' and communal toilets at the Schiller School.

Young people can remove the menstrual products free of charge.

Five schools in the North Education Center are also part of the pilot project, says deputy city school spokesperson Nila Minneker.

At the Schiller School, the student council will be responsible for refilling the dispensers, she explains.

The supply is sufficient for around six months, when it is used up, one can draw a first conclusion of the pilot project.

The city student council initiated the project a year and a half ago in the course of the local elections, reports deputy city school spokesman Harrison Krampe.

In the city parliament, the Volt faction supported the student representatives in realizing the project.

According to Britta Wollkopf (Volt), the pilot project serves to overcome existing skepticism and to be able to better estimate the costs that will arise.

If the pilot project is successful, they want to equip all Frankfurt schools with free donors.

Toilets in universities and municipal buildings should then also be gradually stocked.

Inform the younger students

In this project, success means that the products are not vandalized, explains Krampe.

In order to prevent the products from ending up in the toilets and clogging them, the Schiller School is trying to sensitize users to use the products consciously.

In the course of this, together with Minneker and other supporters, he had already visited the fifth and sixth grades of the high school to explain to them what the new donors were all about.

Sex education is later in the curriculum, so not all younger students are informed about the subject.

The initiators agree that the free menstrual products are more than a relief for schoolgirls.

Especially for low-income households, the free provision could also represent a financial relief.

In this way, schools could contribute to inclusion, says Wollkopf.

According to Harrison, the realization of the project shows that students, too, could bring about change through their involvement.

The project generally motivates political participation and is therefore also an important signal for male students.