Free sanitary products are to be provided at all schools beginning with the new academic year starting in August, benefiting an estimated 95,000 people, the Ministry of Education said yesterday.
Speaking at a legislative committee hearing on International Women’s Day yesterday, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said sanitary pads and tampons would be provided at schools of all levels, as well as facilities administered by the Ministry of Education.
About NT$120 million (US$3.9 million) has been earmarked for the project, to be allocated to local governments, he said.
Photo: CNA
Pan also said that the ministry “in principle” supports setting up gender-neutral restrooms in schools.
The ministry launched the initiative to address the intersection of “period poverty” — a lack of access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities and adequate education — and economic disadvantage, said Hsieh Chang-yun (謝昌運), director of the ministry’s Department of Student Affairs and Special Education.
Education would be provided about different sanitary product options with respect to students’ personal choice, Hsieh said.
The ministry is also developing educational and counseling measures to help students through the emotional and physical discomfort experienced during periods, he added.
Local governments and schools would be responsible for determining whether the products would be provided directly to individual students or via coupons to purchase themselves, with consideration to the location and resources of each school, Hsieh said.
For tertiary institutions, the funds would be included in existing financial aid for disadvantaged students, he said.
For other students, universities and colleges could set a location where sanitary products would be provided, he added.
People in need could go to buildings administered by the ministry to retrieve sanitary products at the information counter, breastfeeding rooms or medical centers, Hsieh said.
Additionally, the ministry would improve education around human rights, gender equality and menstruation, Hsieh said.
It would also create more teaching materials in different media for teachers to use, he added.
Separately yesterday, the Kaohsiung City Government announced that tourism sites across the city would be stocked with sanitary products free of charge.
All 14 travel spots administered by the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau — including the airport and train station — partner businesses and more than 50 hotels are to join the initiative, bureau Director Kao Min-lin (高閔琳) said.
Notices would be posted in the toilets at scenic spots to inform visitors of where to retrieve the products, Kao said.
Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang
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