Councils have taken on a legal obligation to have period products freely available to whoever needs them through the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act.
Stirling Council already has more than 30 locations across the council area, such as schools, libraries and community halls, listed on the PickUpMyPeriod app. However, the new consultation aims to understand the views of the wider public about the provision of and access to free period products.
The consultation can be accessed online via the Engage Stirling platform and will remain open for feedback until Friday 8 July.
Stirling Council’s Head of People and Community Wellbeing, Kate Hudson, said: “Whether you’re looking to access period products for your own use, or you’re collecting them for someone else, this consultation aims to understand where you think you should be able to do that and how the products are stored and presented.
“We’re opening up this discussion to the whole of Stirling. The views of people who might need to collect products for other people, such as fathers, brothers or sons are just as important as the views of those who’ll be using the products themselves.
“We want to understand your views on issues ranging from the type and variety of products that are available for use, to the preferred location for products to be made available within a building.
“I’d encourage everybody who could benefit from this to take part in the consultation as your views will help ensure Stirling is well prepared to make these products accessible to all who need them.”
The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act places responsibility on local authorities to provide period products for everyone living in and visiting Scotland.
The introduction of this Act requires responsible bodies to conduct a consultation to find out:
- The premises in which, and where in those premises, period products ought to be obtainable free of charge
- The ways in which product users ought to be able to obtain period products free of charge, and
- The types of period products which ought to be obtainable free of charge