Period products 'essential not optional'

Image caption,

The Period Products (Free Provision) Act 2026 has been granted Royal Assent

ByChanelle SukhooIsle of Man

Published11 minutes ago

Sanitary towels and tampons are "basic health and hygiene products" which are "essential and not optional", the public health director has said.

Matt Tyrer's department is spearheading the rolling out of a scheme which will see women and girls on the Isle of Man access free period products.

The Period Products (free provision) Act bill was introduced by MHK Joney Faragher as a private members bill in 2024. It has now been given Royal Assent but it will not come into force until October 2027.

Tyrer said making the products available would also ensure women or girls will not have to miss school, work or everyday activities.

Making them available to households on low incomes, he said, ensured women, girls and those who menstruate, can access them.

"We want to ensure people who need them have access to them as these are basic health and hygiene products that are essential and not optional," said Tyrer.

'Long time coming'

The scheme follows similar programmes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

One of the co-founders of the Manx Menstrual Movement, Rhian Evans described Royal Assent as "a long time coming".

In 2023, Evans and Nicki Gaskell created the movement after speaking about period poverty and the basic right to have access products.

They then set up donation stations across the island as well as a pick and mix station at Douglas City Library.

They praised MHK Joney Faraghar, who they approached in 2024, saying she had done "a lot of work behind the scenes for this".

Rhian Evans is smiling, wearing a dark green woolly hat with long brown hair. She's wearing a like pink hoodie and is standing in front of the glass windows of the library, with a halloween witch mural visible to the right. You can see shop fronts on the street through the glass.

Image caption,

Rhian Evans from the Manx Menstural Movement says there is period poverty on the island

Evans said the pick and mix station started as an interim solution but they hoped it would continue.

"It is so important, it is also bittersweet because it also highlights that there is period poverty here and we wholeheartedly believe that your financial background does not matter, anyone who menstruates, should have this access," she said.

Becky Rolwey, head of public health communities, said the organisation would now engage with people to understand the needs going forward.

"We really want to ensure that people aren't embarrassed to access it, be it a father or brother or even a male friend and that they can get it easily," she said.

Nick Gaskell has wavy red hair. She has glasses resting on her head and is standing in front of the double doors to the library with a security scanner to the left and books to the right.

Image caption,

Nicki Gaskell particularly wants schoolchildren to have access to free products

Rolwey said over the next year public health needed to determine the best and most sustainable products it could make available.

"Some people say a pad only costs X amount and is really cheap, but we know that those are not sufficient for everybody's needs," she said.

While exact locations on where the products could be found are not yet available, Tyrer said local authorities, schools, libraries, the Isle of Man Foodbank and other charities could potentially be used.

He added: "Fundamentally we want anybody who needs period products to be able to access them in a place that is convenient and appropriate."