SAPP's Third Blog Post!!
Welcome to SAPP’s third blog post!
We have some great news regarding period poverty: Scotland is the first nation to make sanitary products free starting in November of 2020!
This includes pads, tampons, menstrual cups, etc. Two years ago, Scotland already provided free sanitary products to students in schools and universities. Under this new legislation, Scotland will set up a country-wide initiative in collaboration with local authorities to allow anyone to have access to menstrual products.
Parliament can be a progressive force for change as seen from what has happened in Scotland. Based on their changes in law, menstruators in their country can take a weight off their shoulders. There is no such thing as the “pink tax” as they don’t have to pay for menstrual products anymore.
Here in the United States, period products are taxed at the cash register. Men’s shaving products and hair growth products are not taxed. Because of this, we can clearly see that women are being discriminated against. Periods are not associated with shame and guilt anymore in Scotland. The children in the younger generation will grow up knowing not to shame menstruators. In the United States, we can follow the same protocol and demand our government officials for change.
Periods are natural cycles women go through that shouldn’t be labeled with negativity. Change can start now and not later. Having peaceful protests and demanding change will make the biggest impact right now. As high schoolers, we can spread awareness through friends and social media. We can start campaigns and contribute to donation drives. Luckily, SAPP has already been making a change in the Bay Area. Those that are in need of period products have been receiving care packages from our team.
Without the help of community donations, SAPP would not exist. Ways you can help us include making physical donations of menstrual goods (tissues, baby wipes, masks, chapsticks, etc) or a tax-deductible monetary donation to our PayPal (paypal.me/sapp4u), venmo (venmo.com/sapp4u), or by writing us a check (contact us for mailing address!).
We appreciate any amount you can give us. If you are crafty and would like to do a hands-on experience, you can join our CAPP-IT program and attend our workshops. If these options won’t work for you, spreading awareness about SAPP on social media will be a tremendous contribution too. (IG: @officialsapp FB: @sapp4u)
About the author
Hello! My name is Christina Yang and I am a senior at Irvington High School. Once I did some research for my QUEST project on period poverty, I was astonished at how the issue is not being talked about more. By being a part of SAPP, I hope to spread the word about period poverty and help lessen the issue.
