"Makes life easier for women": Free tampons and pads at the university in Baden-Württemberg

Created: 12/22/2022, 1:17 p.m

By: Julia Hawener

Sanitary pads and tampons are already available free of charge in some municipalities in Baden-Württemberg.

From January, this will also be the case at the University of Heidelberg.

© dpa/Martin debris

From January there will be dispensers with menstrual articles in ten toilets at Heidelberg University.

Students can get tampons and pads free of charge here.

Heidelberg – It affects billions of people and yet the topic is still associated with a lot of shame: the period.

It can be all the more uncomfortable for menstruating people when the menstrual period starts suddenly, but you don't have any hygiene products at hand.

Pads and tampons also cost a lot of money.

According to surveys, women spend around 500 euros a year on period products.

A grievance that some municipalities in Baden-Württemberg have already recognized.

In some schools, youth centers and public toilets in the country there are pads and tampons that you can use free of charge and completely discreetly.

An offer that will also be available at the University of Heidelberg from next year.

From January, dispensers with free pads and tampons will be available in a total of ten toilets at the Ruprecht-Karls-University in Heidelberg, according to

.

First of all, however, only for half a year, because that's how long the pilot phase of the project of the Periodic Germany initiative, which was founded by five Heidelberg students, is running.

During this time, surveys should be used to determine how great the need for period products actually is and whether there are any suggestions for improvement.

The donors were financed with funds from the university's study council.

Free tampons and pads at the University of Heidelberg

In 2015, musician Kiran Gandhi ran the London Marathon without a tampon, even though she was on her period at the time.

She wanted to break the silence on this topic, which has been fraught with shame for centuries, and to draw attention to the fact that there are women who simply cannot afford period products and are therefore unable to participate in social life.

In fact, so-called period poverty is a problem in many countries.

The initiative of the Heidelberg students agrees.

"We have been working on the project since May and are pleased that we can now make a contribution to destigmatizing everything to do with menstruation and promote equal, barrier-free participation in university life," says Constantin Thierfelder, founding member of Periodic Germany, to

.

The initiative at the University of Heidelberg “makes life easier for women”

Numerous users on the Internet are enthusiastic about the initiative's project.

"Good thing.

Every woman, absolutely every woman, knows the situation of unexpectedly needing a tampon or pad and not having any at hand.

This initiative makes life easier for women, thank you for that,” writes one user on Facebook.

"Well finally.

If men had their periods, the products would have been freely available for a long time," says another.

But the free period products also trigger debates from time to time.

For example, a few months ago there was an uproar in Stuttgart because tampons were also laid out in the men's toilets in the town hall and in the citizens' offices.