Free menstrual products will be available at some washrooms at UNBC's Prince George campus when students return this fall.
The move was inspired by the United Way's Period Promise campaign, a coalition of campus groups that came together to develop a pilot project to put free menstrual product dispensers in high-traffic washrooms on post-secondary school campuses. UNBC is funding the project at its P.G. campus.
“We want to bring menstrual products to campus and make them available free-of-charge for students and other people who access the university who are menstruating to end period poverty and end the stigma they may be experiencing,” said Emily Erickson, a student currently completing a practicum at the Northern Women’s Centre. “Period poverty is something menstruating people experience when they don’t have the proper tools, such as menstruation products, to manage their periods.”
Menstrual products are expensive and some people are forced to forgo buying other essentials to purchase them, Erickson said.
“We don’t want people to have to choose between coming to class or staying home because they don’t have proper products to make their day comfortable and sanitary,” she said. “Everyone has the right to feel clean and comfortable.”
The Northern British Columbia Graduate Students’ Society (NBCGSS), the Northern Undergraduate Student Society, the Prince George Public Interest Research Group and the Northern Women’s Centre spearheaded the project in Prince George.
“We provide toilet paper for free in public and private washrooms to address the basic human right of access to proper sanitation,” said Abby Dooks, director of external affairs for the NBCGSS. “Women and people who menstruate make up 51 per cent of Canada’s population. This program will provide free menstrual products to meet this basic need for half the population.”
