The free period product initiative for schools set up by the government in 2021 has been a success, with over one million product packs delivered across the country to date.
Out of the 2,126 schools that have opted into the initiative, more than 213,000 students have benefited.
“Students, their families, principals, and teachers are really supportive of access to period products in schools,” Education Minister Jan Tinetti says.
“Some students don’t come to school during their period because they don’t have access to or can’t afford period products. Providing them for free at school means students are more comfortable and more likely to want to be there.
“It also goes some way to reducing costs on families, because we know that right now every little bit counts."
Taking away the barrier
Tinetti says young people were not attending school when they had their period because they didn't have period products at home and it was too expensive. "So what we said was, 'Let's take that barrier away.' So we introduced this initiative of adding free period products into schools".
Naenae College is one of the 2,126 schools participating in the initiative. The school has ordered over 4,000 packs of period products, and four dispensers have been installed throughout the school.
“I've had amazing conversations with these girls in this school who have told me how much more it has been normalised but also what it meant to them about how they're attending school every day," Tinetti says. "I also heard about how we've got some girls who are saying that they've got more money to spend on other things but it's taken more pressure off of their families."
The Ministry of Education will also be making resources to help students, with assistance from teachers and whānau, learn about ikura and help reduce the stigma around menstruation. One resource includes a comic, available in te reo Māori and English for pre- and early menstruating students.