As part of the movement to deliver dignity to menstruating women living below the poverty line, a vending machine for free period products has been installed at Echuca-Moama's women's health centre.
Key points:
- Share the Dignity has 350 free period product vending machines around Australia
- A vending machine has been installed at Echuca-Moama's women's health centre
- It's estimated the machine will dispense around 100 packs of pads and tampons per month
Placed by the charity organisation Share the Dignity, which has 350 similar machines around Australia, it is the charity's first foray into the northern Victorian and southern New South Wales region.
An estimated 100 packs of pads and tampons will be dispensed each month.
Dispensing dignity
Share the Dignity founder and managing director Rochelle Courtenay said she set up the charity to ensure no-one who experiences periods goes without essential sanitary products.
"I've heard hundreds of stories of indignity from women and girls," Ms Courtenay said.
"One girl who was experiencing homelessness said she was forced to steal socks from a laundromat to deal with her period.
"I've heard of others choosing between wadded-up toilet paper or McDonald's napkins, which should never happen in Australia."
Ms Courtenay said while there were no statistics on the number of people who missed school due to lack of period supplies, from feedback, her charity believed it was a significant issue.
She said a Share the Dignity period-pride survey showed more than half of the 20,000 respondents had missed school during their period, and nearly a quarter said they could not afford period products.
Women to go without necessities
And the situation is expected to get worse.
"Pre-COVID, 3.2 million Australians were below the poverty line," Ms Courtenay said.
"That is expected to exceed 5 million as JobKeeper ends.
"There are far too many women living below the poverty line."
Ms Courtenay said the vending machine program gave women the privacy they needed to deal with such a personal issue and recounted a woman leaving a domestic violence situation.
"She sought help getting a home and food for herself and her daughter. Then she got her period, and she said she just sat and cried," Ms Courtenay said.
"She knew she couldn't handle one more thing or ask for one more handout."
Share the Dignity holds two product drives a year — in March and August — and volunteers are always welcome.
"Surely, it's one thing that we can do for women. One thing to take off their trouble list," Ms Courtenay said.