Angelina Inthavong | Every state should follow ACT's lead and make period products free in public places

As a society we view toilet paper as a basic necessity and provide it for everyone freely. But why aren't period products given the same treatment?

In Canberra, where I live and study, the ACT government have done just this by passing a bill earlier this week to provide free period products. This is an Australian first, with period products to be made available in public spaces such as libraries, hospitals, schools, and community facilities.

This is going to have a profound impact for many people who menstruate and it's imperative that other states and territories around Australia follow suit.

This news couldn't have come at a more important time. Nearly 50 per cent of the Australian population have or will menstruate during their lives.

Period products are a basic necessity for these girls, women and gender-diverse people. Even before the current cost-of-living crisis, many were struggling to afford these basic products.

But as inflation, mortgages and rents have soared in the last year, being able to manage your period safely and with dignity - which should be a human right - has become a whole lot harder in Australia.

People in Australia who menstruate spend, on average, a whopping $10,000 on period products in their lifetime - and that's just pads and tampons. If you suffer from painful periods, PMS or endometriosis, that amount is even higher. Imagine what a young person like me could do with that extra $10,000.

I could pay off half of my HECS debt. I could even perhaps access one of the government's first home buyer initiatives and purchase my first home.

A new report, A Tough Period by gender equality and humanitarian organisation Plan International Australia - for which I am a youth activist - has found that 60 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials - equivalent to almost 6 million women and people who menstruate - are now finding it much harder to afford period products compared to last year.

I can see this number reflected in my own and my friends' experiences.

Many young people I know are struggling to afford period products due to the rising cost of living. When money is tight, we are forced to prioritise essentials such as our rent, food, or travel costs.

Coping mechanisms young people I know are resorting to include changing to a cheaper brand of period products, or more worryingly, changing their period products less frequently, which can lead to all sorts of sexual and reproductive health issues and infections.

Period poverty - which is the lack of access to products, menstrual hygiene education, toilets, handwashing facilities, or waste management - along with period stigmas and shame, force many people to retreat from society and deal with periods at home on their own.

I've known plenty of young people who have dropped out of a sport they loved playing, or skipped university classes when they were having trouble managing their periods.

On any given day, around 300 million women and girls globally will have their periods. Yet, we still treat this normal biological process as "secret women's business" - and it's something that puts girls, women, and people who menstruate all around the world at a disadvantage.

There's an underlying rhetoric when our decision makers discuss period poverty that everyone is a cis girl, not from a culturally diverse background and without a disability. This creates additional barriers to accessing period products for people from different diverse groups.

For instance, government pledges to provide free period products in state schools and other public spaces, while a welcome commitment, is unfortunately not even touching the tip of the iceberg for demand and accessibility. For example, free period products are often placed only in girls' bathrooms, which completely invalidates the experiences and needs of trans, non-binary, and other gender diverse folk who menstruate.

Other times, when only tampons may be available, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds such as myself who were taught that tampons were invasive and wrong may feel additional stigma and be unable to manage their period. This lack of education and additional stigma for many culturally diverse adolescences like myself can lead to a plethora of distressing feelings and emotions.

Women with Disabilities Australia's Youth Advisory Group's resource Reproductive Health, Menstruation, Contraception and Disability: A resource for Young People further emphasises the need for decision makers to provide a wide range of products to manage periods, from pads, sustainable period underwear, menstrual cups, and medication, whether non-hormonal or hormonal such as the contraceptive pill or progesterone injections.

It is of utmost importance that young, diverse menstruators are co-designing the solutions for period poverty. Period poverty is an intersectional issue that needs the varied input and lived experience of diverse young people as everyone has the right to good sexual and reproductive health.

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In 2021, as the Queensland Youth Health Minister, I and my peers unanimously passed a youth bill to provide free period products in all public bathrooms, demonstrating not only the need for these laws, but also that it was legislatively possible ages ago.

Young people who menstruate have the solutions for how we can end period poverty in Australia. As part of its research, Plan International Australia asked its youth activists for the changes we think would have the most impact.

We called for funding for free menstrual health products in all public bathrooms all across the country - especially in remote First Nations communities and regional settings - as well as menstrual health subsidies for those from low socioeconomic status backgrounds and those doing it tough and struggling the most with the rising cost of living.

We have recommended that information is provided in all health clinics and hospitals about where to access free menstrual health products and menstrual pain treatments.

As a young woman who has also experienced the disadvantage of period poverty, I'm thrilled by this latest win for period poverty in the ACT. It will truly make a difference to my life. Other Australian states and territories urgently need to follow suit - period products need to be viewed by all of society as a necessity, not a nice to have.