Last week, Scotland became the first country in the world to make tampons, pads and other period products free to the public. The legislation was initially approved by lawmakers in 2020. 

Scottish leaders are using this initiative to combat period poverty, or the lack of access to period products because of the high cost, something we have plenty of in the United States, especially among young people. 

And although menstrual hygiene is a basic need, there are still many barriers to accessing products to meet it. A 2021 study by George Mason University of college women showed that 1 in 10 college women experience period poverty. In another study commissioned by Thinx & PERIOD, called the State of the Period, it found that a quarter of students who menstruate, ages 13 to 19, experience period poverty. 

As we begin a new school year, addressing period poverty here in the U.S. remains critical as ever.For more, I’m joined now by Michela Bedard, Executive Director of PERIOD., a non-profit that is fighting to end period poverty.