Halton school board will offer free menstrual products to students
- Michael Kras
- 15 Apr 2021
By September of this year, students in the Halton District School Board (HDSB) will have access to free menstrual products in the district’s schools.
This important initiative is intended to alleviate stigmas attached to menstruation, and to help address some barriers to access of these products for Halton Region students who menstruate.
𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘: The #HDSB will provide free menstrual products for students in all HDSB schools by September 2021 as part of the Free Menstrual Products Initiative.
Read more here: https://t.co/hFdTP8qt63 pic.twitter.com/8JParwBDTS
— HDSB (@HaltonDSB) April 8, 2021
The HDSB will install dispensing machines in female and all-gender washrooms in all of the district’s school buildings, with installation expected to be completed over spring break and into the summer.
“Access and availability of menstrual products in schools impacts the dignity and self-esteem of menstruating students and can impact class attendance and student achievement,” said Jewel Amoah, Human Rights & Equity Advisor for the HDSB.
“Whether for reasons of economics, convenience or safety, access to menstrual products in public spaces, including schools, has become a matter of public commentary and concern in recent years.
“In keeping with similar initiatives in neighbouring and regional school boards, as well as municipalities in Canadian and international jurisdictions, free access to menstrual products supports both gender and economic equity as well as to raise awareness of, and destigmatize, the natural biological process of menstruation.”
The initiative was first tested as a pilot project in four Halton schools back in Fall 2020, with September 2021 seeing the full rollout completed in line with students’ return for their forthcoming Fall semester.
Read the full release on the HDSB website.
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