In September 2021, the City of Calgary launched the Free. Period. initiative as a way to combat period poverty and the inaccessibility of menstrual hygiene products in our city. Here’s what you need to know.
What is period poverty?
Period poverty is a global sanitation issue affecting people all over the world. According to globalcitizen.org, it refers to the lack of access to sanitary products, menstrual hygiene education, toilets, hand washing facilities, and/or waste management. A big part of fighting this is making period products more affordable and more accessible. Although some countries around the world have stopped taxing period products as luxury items—known as the “pink tax” or “tampon tax”—in others the tax, seen by many as a form of gender-based discrimination—continues. And simply removing the tax doesn’t suddenly mean everyone is able to afford period products, either.
Fighting period poverty is also about destigmatizing menstruation—in many places, people who menstruate are ostracized from society. For example, in Nepal women are sometimes forced to live in technically illegal menstrual huts during their cycles, as menstruation is seen as impure.
What is Free. Period.?
Partnering with Youth Central’s Mayor’s Youth Council and the Calgary Public Library, the City has made free pads and tampons available at select locations in an effort to improve the accessibility of period products for everyone. You can find these products at the following locations:
Alberta Trade Centre (315 10 Ave S.E.) – first and second floors
Calgary Central Library (800 3 St S.E.) – second, third and fourth floor
Municipal Building (800 Macleod Trail S.E.) – main floor
Village Square Leisure Centre (2623 56 St N.E.) – main floor
The City has also made these menstrual products available in men’s washrooms. This is an important step towards acknowledging the diversity within the category of people who menstruate—as the City’s website says: “Period poverty affects everyone including families and friends of menstruators, non-binary, and trans folks.”
What can you do?
Whether or not you menstruate, take the City of Calgary’s survey to help them collect data and feedback about the pilot program. You can also read up on period poverty and donate to or volunteer at organizations which help fight period poverty worldwide, such as Days for Girls, PERIOD (founded by two high schoolers, Nadya Okamoto and Vincent Forand!), or Dignity Period.