Free Pads and Tampons at 252 More Schools
A total of 5.6 million pieces of period products are being provided as part of a cooperation with a drugstore chain. The initiative also aims to destigmatize menstruation.
Especially in times of inflation, financial relief for these basic hygiene products is urgent and necessary, emphasized Women's Minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner (SPÖ) in a press release. With the pilot project, they also want to "raise awareness and finally break the taboo surrounding the topic of menstruation."
Menstruation still partially stigmatized
This should be achieved not only by making period products as readily available as soap and toilet paper in the washroom. Additionally, QR codes on the dispensers lead to information on women's health and menstruation.
According to the 2024 Menstrual Health Report by the Ministry of Health, 20 percent of women have difficulty affording menstrual products. Partly, menstrual bleeding is still associated with shame according to the study. Although 90 percent (rather) believe that menstruation should be openly discussed, one-eighth of the women surveyed between the ages of 14 and 60 perceive it as something impure, and seven percent believe that menstruation should be kept secret from others. This attitude was particularly common among women who had only completed compulsory schooling.
(APA/Red)
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