Period products are essential items for personal care to address a normal biological need and should therefore be available to everyone who needs them, regardless of their economic status.
The Assembly recently made a ground-breaking piece of legislation called the Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (“the Act”).
The Act places importance on respect for dignity and aims to remove financial barriers to accessing period products.
Section 1 of the Act provides for the provision of free period products and places a duty on The Executive Office (TEO) to ensure that period products are available free of charge, on a universal basis, in appropriate locations.
The Department is now seeking views on:
- The ways in which users of period products ought to be able to obtain period products free of charge;
- The locations in which period products ought to be obtainable free of charge; and
- The types of period products which ought to be obtainable free of charge.
The consultation document and details of how to respond can be accessed here.
Please contact period.products@executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk should you require hard copy versions of the documents, copies in other languages and formats (including Braille, large print etc.), or wish to find out more about our work and the consultation process.