In the future, the city wants to make tampons and pads available free of charge in public toilets. A pilot project is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2025 and initially last for a year. Next year, menstrual products will also be distributed in the city’s counseling services in order to reach Munich women in need of help. This emerges from the draft resolution that the Health Committee will vote on next Thursday.
Initially, tampons and pads will be placed in around 100 public city toilets. These are the women’s toilets, the disabled toilets and the “toilets for all genders”. The aim is to reach women with and without disabilities as well as non-binary and intersex people, according to the template. Special dispensers for tampons and sanitary pads are installed that cannot be “manipulated” because this poses a high hygiene risk.
Since the beginning of this year, free menstrual products have been available from independent child and youth work organizations and street work institutions. City schools also have the opportunity to distribute tampons and pads to their students. The city covers the costs. With the expansion to public toilets, the aim is now to primarily reach women in precarious living situations who cannot afford period items.
For a quarter of all girls and women, periods represent a financial burden
This condition is called period poverty. The health department calculates: The monthly costs for menstrual items would be between seven and 35 euros, depending on whether, for example, painkillers are also included. Citizens’ money provides 19.16 euros per month for “health care”. This means that more than a third of the planned budget would be used up just for menstruation, even if you use the cheapest items.
In a representative survey by the aid organization Plan 2022, 23 percent of the girls and women surveyed in Germany said that monthly expenses for their period were a financial burden for them. One in ten deliberately delays changing tampons, pads or panty liners in order to last longer. This means that those affected risk developing infections that are harmful to their health, according to the template.
The environmental aspect is also discussed. Conventional menstrual products are mostly made of plastic – and end up in the trash. Therefore, organic products should be purchased for the free edition.
With his initiative, Munich is entering a new wave: more and more municipalities are introducing free menstrual products in public places or schools. Some universities, such as the University of Philosophy in Munich, are also making progress here. Most recently, the Unterföhringen local council also voted in favor. Scotland was a pioneer: it was the first country in the world to pass a law in 2020 that requires public institutions to provide period products free of charge.