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Stingy Scots? But on the contrary! In Scotland there will even be free tampons and pads by law in the future. And other countries should take this as an example!
In the future, there will be free tampons and pads in Scotland in all public places such as youth clubs, schools, pharmacies or community centers. The Scottish Parliament has just passed this bill. It says: "Everyone in Scotland who needs period products has the right to obtain them free of charge under this paragraph."
All 112 MPs voted for this new law, one abstained. This is intended to bring the taboo topic of menstruation more to the public and to combat so-called period poverty. One in four women in Scotland does not have enough money for products that they need during their period.
Here in Austria we have been fighting the tampon tax for a long time: As the online platform Erdbeerwoche has calculated, a woman gets an average of 500 periods in her life - and spends around 3,000 days menstruating - and that has its price. A woman spends between 2,500 and 4,500 euros over her entire life on around 16,800 pads and tampons. This does not include the cost of pain relievers, for example, to relieve menstrual pain. A whole chunk of money that many women - even in Austria - find it difficult to afford. Nevertheless, in Austria (and many other parts of the world) tampons and sanitary towels are still taxed like luxury items a là champagne, and thus at 20 percent.
Sanitary products are a necessity, not a choice
In 2018, Scotland became the first country in the world to take the first big step in the right direction: for the new school year, all public schools and universities in Scotland offered pads and tampons free of charge. As a study by the organization "Young Scot" found out, around 25 percent of Scottish women struggle to pay for their hygiene products. In a first world country. The so-called period poverty also exists with us. The results? Missed school hours and other problems at school.
"In a country as rich as Scotland, it is unacceptable that anyone should struggle to buy basic sanitary products," said press officer Aileen Campbell, for example, to the Guardian. "I am proud that Scotland is taking this world-leading action to tackle period poverty."
In Austria, in addition to Strawberry Week, the federal youth council has also called for a reduction in the tampon tax. Martina Tiwald, chairman of the BJV: "A woman cannot choose whether she has her period or not. That is a biological fact. Tampons and sanitary towels are currently taxed at 20 percent, as are luxury goods. Important everyday products such as Groceries, but also books, on the other hand, are taxed at the reduced rate of 10 percent. That just doesn't go together for us. " We could no longer agree with this and hope that more countries will soon follow suit.
