Scotland today became the first country in the world to protect in law the right to access free period products.
The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act means that councils and education providers will be legally required to make period products available free of charge to anyone who needs them.
Social justice secretary Shona Robison said: ‘Providing access to free period products is fundamental to equality and dignity, and removes the financial barriers to accessing them. This is more important than ever at a time when people are making difficult choices due to the cost of living crisis and we never want anyone to be in a position where they cannot access period products.’
The Act builds on the Period Products in Schools (Scotland) Regulations which came into force in October 2020, placing a duty on local authorities and grant-aided schools to provide free products for pupils.
The Scottish government is providing £3.4m in 2022-23 for access to free period products for students.
People can find their nearest collection point through the PickupMyPeriod mobile app which was launched earlier this year by social enterprise Hey Girls with Scottish Government support.
Celia Hodson, founder of Hey Girls, commented: ‘The Period Product Act shows Scotland is leading the way in recognising that period products are not a luxury and should be freely available to all.
‘Through our PickupMyPeriod app, we work to ensure no-one in Scotland is left without access to period products and are well on the way to achieving that with more than 1,000 locations highlighted to users.
‘We hope the Act will help those in need and that our app will be of support to many more as our network continues to grow.’
