4 Jun 2020

Govt to supply free period products in schools from next year

From First Up, 5:33 am on 4 June 2020

Supplying free period products in schools will be life changing for many. That's from advocates for people with periods, after the government announced a 2.6 million dollar program to roll out sanitary products to all state and state-integrated schools. Young people at 15 Waikato schools will be the first to benefit from the scheme from term 3 this year, while all other eligible schools will be able to opt-in from next year. It comes after research found as many as 12 per cent of girls in New Zealand miss school because they can't afford pads and tampons. Minister for Women, Julie Anne Genter told political reporter Yvette McCullough about how the scheme will work. ---- The joint announcement from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Julie Anne Genter came after they met with a number of period campaigners and public health experts yesterday. They included The Period Place co-founder Danika Revell, who spoke to First Up's Lydia Batham as she waited to board a flight from Wellington after the meeting.