Scotland's period products rights law in force today

Period products should be available free of charge from today to anyone in Scotland who needs them, as the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 comes into force.

Councils and education providers will be legally required to make period products available under the Act, the first of its kind in the world. It builds on the Period Products in Schools (Scotland) Regulations which came into force in October 2020, placing a duty on local authorities and grant-aided schools to provide free products for pupils.

The Act began as a member's bill by Labour MSP Monica Lennon, which was then taken up by the Scottish Government.

People can find their nearest collection point through the PickupMyPeriod mobile app which was launched earlier this year by social enterprise Hey Girls with Scottish Government support.

Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison commented: "Providing access to free period products is fundamental to equality and dignity, and removes the financial barriers to accessing them. This is more important than ever at a time when people are making difficult choices due to the cost of living crisis and we never want anyone to be in a position where they cannot access period products."

Celia Hodson, founder of Hey Girls, added: "Through our PickupMyPeriod app, we work to ensure no one in Scotland is left without access to period products, and are well on the way to achieving that with more than 1,000 locations highlighted to users.

"We hope the Act will help those in need and that our app will be of support to many more as our network continues to grow."