Free period products belong in school bathrooms

by Gloria Liu staff reporter

In today’s society, women face many hardships, one of which is limited access to period products. With the lack of menstrual products, such as tampons and sanitary pads, resulting in a loss of education and period poverty, period products must become free and accessible to women of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

Menstrual products should be available in restrooms everywhere, especially in school bathrooms. The unavailability of period products in schools leads to a bigger problem, which is inhibiting a student from getting their education. Whether it’s being late to class or missing class completely, when students are unable to access feminine hygiene products efficiently, they must take out extra time from class to make sure they’re taken care of. According to Healthier, an online nutrition newsletter, the lack of access to period supplies can have an impact on student education. Without these supplies, students may miss class or not even try to participate for fear of embarrassment.

The lack of access to period products is especially detrimental to lower-income girls and women. In fact, a 2021 State of the Period report found that 23% of students have struggled to afford menstrual products. This can be explained by the expensive cost and taxes associated with period products. According to the National Organization for Women, in 2021, women could expect to spend $20 per cycle and $200 to $300 per year on menstrual products.

Rising inflation has only exacerbated these issues. From July 2021 to July 2022, the average price of tampons rose 10.8% and the average price of pads rose 8.9% according to NielsenIQ, a site that tracks consumer buying behavior. This means that in the span of a year, a woman could expect to pay around $50 more per year on menstrual products. Providing free period products in women’s restrooms could help to alleviate the financial burden that these products place on lowerincome girls and women.

If schools like Mounds View can provide soap and toilet paper, they can provide feminine hygiene prod- ucts in bathrooms as well. The walk to the nurse’s office singles females out and can be intimidating, as students often have to walk across school while bleeding through. This issue could be easily solved by providing pads and tampons in bathrooms.

Cost is an oft-cited rebuttal to providing free period products in school bathrooms, yet most estimates invalidate this claim. Free the Tampon, an advocacy group working towards getting menstrual products in state budgets, estimates that it would cost $5 to $7 per year per student to provide accessible period products in schools. This is significantly less than the $200 to $300 per year it would cost female students to purchase their own products.

Furthermore, the costs are justified by the benefits accessible pads and tampons provide female students. For example, a program in New York City found that attendance of female students increased by 2.4% at a city high school after providing tampons and pads in its restrooms.

Currently, only three states in the U.S. require free period products in school restrooms. This is something that must change. It is completely inequitable to withhold free period from female students, and when a school does not provide something that is as essential as toilet paper, it sends the message that the needs of female students are not important.