This Spanish Region Has Started Providing Free Reusable Period Products For Everyone
All girls, women, transgender and people who menstruate in Catalonia can now receive period products and professional advice at no cost from nearly 3,300 pharmacies across the region.
On Monday, March 4, Spain’s Catalonia made history by becoming the first region in the world to distribute free and reusable period products to everyone who needs them.
Under the new “My Period, My Rules” campaign, all girls, women, transgender and people who menstruate in Catalonia can now receive period products and professional advice at no cost from nearly 3,300 pharmacies across the region.
Upon each request, the pharmacies will provide one piece of period underwear, one menstrual cup, and two packages of cloth pads.
The pioneering health initiative came after Spain passed a law in 2022 for free menstrual products to be distributed at schools, prisons, women’s healthcare facilities, and other public institutions, according to Reuters.
It aims to address period poverty and raise awareness about menstrual equity by ensuring access to reusable period products and promoting menstrual education.
According to the Spanish regional government, 44% of menstruating women in Catalonia could not afford their preferred product, and 23% had to reuse single-use items due to their high costs.
"Whether you like it or not, we are spending a lot on pads, a lot on tampons, a lot of products throughout our lives and they pollute a lot and it's also a big expense whether you like it or not,” 18-year-old student Helena Herranz told Reuters.
“The right to one’s own body is the most essential right of all, precisely because the right to one’s own body is as personal as it is political,” Catalan authorities said in a statement.
This move will benefit about 2.5 million people and is expected to reduce over 9,000 tons of period product waste generated in Catalonia every year.
Also Read
