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Catalonia wants to end menstrual poverty once and for all, Source: Unsplash

Catalonian government approves free access to reusable menstrual products for all women

Catalonian government approves free access to reusable menstrual products for all women

The administration of this Spanish region wants to promote menstrual equity hand in hand with environmental justice

Yesterday, 7 March, the Catalonian Government (Generalitat) approved a pioneering plan which will see the provision of free reusable menstrual products to all women in the autonomous region. The action, described as unprecedented on national and international levels, will potentially benefit 1.8 million women, and even trans men.

This action is part of the 2023-2025 Comprehensive Menstrual and Climacteric Equity Plan, promoted by the Department of Equality and Feminism. Its mission is to guarantee free access for all women to menstrual products (especially sustainable ones) and combat taboos and stigmas associated with menstruation and menopause, through education in numerous areas and support with quality information.

A plan with three noble objectives

The plan pursues a triple objective. First, it promotes gender justice, because it seeks to break taboos and stigmas about menstruation and menopause, and because it looks after women's health. 

Various awareness campaigns will be launched, aimed at both the general public and specific segments (such as young people or the world of sports). Menstrual education will be included in the pedagogical curriculum of sexual education for primary, secondary and special education students, and in workshops aimed at families.

Secondly, it represents an advance in social justice, because it combats menstrual poverty, which affects one in five women in the country, and which could increase in the current context of rising living costs. 

To facilitate the use of menstrual cups, toilets will be adapted and marked in public facilities and workspaces, including educational centres. Other facilities and services open to the public from all over the country will also be encouraged to do so.

Finally, the plan contributes to climate justice, since around 9,000 tons of non-reusable menstrual products are produced in Catalonia every year.

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