Edinburgh 15 August : A Scotland law that aims to fight period poverty which the government claimed to be the first of its kind worldwide went into effect on Monday.It requires education and council providers to make period items available for free of cost to all who requires them the Scottish government stated in an announcement.
“As the cost-of-living crisis begins to take hold the Period Products Act is a shining beacon of optimism that will show what can be achieved when politicians work together to improve the lives of our constituents,” said lawmaker Monica Lennon who was the driving force behind the law which was passed in 2020.
Scotland has invested 27 million pounds ($32 US million) since 2017 to make sure that everyone has access to pads for sanitary use in public areas.
Schools were already required to provide period-related products since the beginning of this year.this Monday marks the expansion of the rules.
“We are extremely proud to be the only federal government in the world to adopt such a policy,” Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison told the BBC.
Period poverty, which refers to the situation where women, girls , and women who menstruate can’t purchase period products is a major issue in many countries across the globe.
Aid organization Plan International said in 2017 that 10% of teenagers and women between the ages of 14 and 21 in the UK were unable to afford period products, and 15 percent of them were unable to afford them due to financial constraints.
