Scotland Will Now Give Low-Income Women Free Sanitary Products

Scotland is launching a pilot program to provide low-income women with free feminine sanitary products, the first country in the world to do so, according to the Scotsman.

Community Food Initiatives North East, a local fruit and vegetable supplier, will run the six-month pilot program, the Scotsman reports. CFINE will distribute free tampons and pads to women and girls in low-income housing in the city of Aberdeen, while the Scottish government provides free products to secondary schools, local colleges and organizations, including Cyrenians, Women’s Aid and HomeStart.

The results from the test period will be used to help shape future policies, the Scottish government said in a statement. Already, the program will receive £42,500 in funding or $54,757.

“It is unacceptable that any woman or girl in Scotland should be unable to access sanitary products” said Equalities Secretary Angela Constance. “That is why, as part of our wider aims to eradicate poverty from our country, we are exploring how to make products freely available to low-income groups.”