Scotland Becomes First Country To Offer Free Sanitary Products For Low-Income Women

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by Elizabeth Bennett |
Published on

The Scottish Government has announced a new pilot project in Aberdeen that will offer free sanitary products.

The sixth month scheme will see around 1000 women and girls from low-income families handed free tampons and pads.

Launched by equalities secretary Angela Constance, the £42,500 scheme will be run by Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE), a social in the area.

The scheme comes following a report earlier this year that highlighted how teenage girls from low-income families across the UK are not able to afford sanitary products. The Guardian found numerous cases of teachers or charities having to step in to provide the neccesary products for young girls.

The new project from the Scottish Government will aim to tackle this issue of 'period poverty'. It is estimated that an average women will spend approximately £5000 on sanitary products across her lifetime - a sum many simply cannot afford.

Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said: 'It is unacceptable that any woman or girl in Scotland should be unable to access sanitary products.That is why, as part of our wider aims to eradicate poverty from our country, we are exploring how to make products freely available to low-income groups.'

'The pilot in Aberdeen is a first step to help us understand the barriers women and girls face - and to help us develop a sensitive and dignified solution to making these products easily accessible to those who need them.'

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