Watch: 900 Maltese Students Will Start Getting Free Pads And Tampons At School Today
900 female students will start to benefit from free pads and tampons in three schools across Malta and Gozo today.
Earlier today, the End the Stigma Campaign, Period was launched by Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg and Head of the Gender Mainstreaming Unit at the Human Rights Directorate Maria Ellul at St Monica School Birkirkara.
The campaign consists of the placement of machines that will provide students with two types of pads for different flows as well as one type of tampon, all for free.
As part of the campaign to end the stigma and make these menstrual products more accessible to everyone, the government is in discussion about the possibility of reducing VAT on these products. Currently, VAT on these products stands at 18%.
When asked by Lovin Malta what stages these discussions are at and whether there is an expected deadline for a policy amendment, Buttigieg explained that the timeline is the five-year term in government, given this was part of the electoral manifesto.
She stated that conversations are being held with stakeholders and while she hopes for it to happen as soon as possible, the speed of these discussions do not rely solely on her.
Moreover, Lovin Malta spoke with a student of St Monica who explained that people at school still struggle with the stigma of having a period and that this dispenser will help tackle that.
The schools that will initially benefit from the pilot project are Gozo College Middle School, St Monica Secondary School, Birkirkara and Maria Regina College Secondary School, Mosta.
Two machines will be tested: automatic dispensers – which work with the press of a button – and tokenised dispensers – which work with a dongle. Students have no limit as to how many times they can use the machines in a month. However, the amount of products available were calculated according to the different populations within the schools.
By the 2025/2026 scholastic year, the campaign is intended to extend to all schools in Malta and Gozo. This pilot project will gather feedback to inform the implementation of the full-scale project.
During the launch, Buttigieg added that she hopes for this initiative to one day be implemented in other facets of society, including in the places of work.
Do you hope to see this initiative in other schools in the islands?
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