HALIFAX—The public library system is making a historic move, according to one activist, by offering free menstrual products in all its bathrooms.

Halifax Public Libraries (HPL) started distributing stock last week and will soon have menstrual products out on counters or in wall-mounted boxes in every bathroom in each of its 14 branches.

Asa Kachan, chief librarian and CEO of HPL, said her staff have already “quietly” been providing products to customers, when asked, but they recently decided to make it easier for every menstruator who enters a library to have access to what they need.

“With the recent conversations about period poverty in our community, we realized that we needed to be more open about making products available,” Kachan said by email.

Jodi Brown has been part of that conversation, speaking up against period poverty — the lack of access to menstrual products and other period necessities, like clean bathrooms and running water — since about 2015. That’s the year she started receiving income assistance.

“Nobody can live off those rates,” Brown said in a phone interview.

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When on her period, Brown would use toilet paper instead of tampons and pads because, even though it was ill-suited for the job, toilet paper was cheaper.

Now Brown receives a federal disability benefit, which she said provides her a slightly larger budget than she had in 2015, but she still experiences the strain of buying menstrual products, and she sees the impact on others through her activism.

That’s why she “got really excited” when HPL staff told her about their plans.

“They’re making history,” she said.

HPL’s initiative comes amid a growing movement for free or subsidized menstrual products across Canada.

Last July, driven by student demand, Mount Saint Vincent University became the first university in Nova Scotia to offer free menstrual products.

Brown endorsed a private member’s bill at the Nova Scotia legislature in March, tabled by PC MLA Karla MacFarlane, which would see an amount added to income assistance for menstrual products “where appropriate.” The bill has yet to move past first reading.

In April, B.C. became the first Canadian province to offer free menstrual products in schools.

In May, the Trudeau Liberals proposed adding menstrual products to the list of items federally governed employers must provide for free. That list currently includes toilet paper, soap, warm water and a way to dry your hands.

Brown said she’s heartened by the efforts and changes happening across the country, and she hopes they alleviate both the financial burden and the social stigma of periods.

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“We don’t choose to bleed, and it’s something that has been happening forever, so we shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk about it, and we shouldn’t be struggling,” she said.

Plan International Canada surveyed more than 3,000 Canadians in both 2018 and 2019 about period stigma. Out of the 2,000 women and girls surveyed in May 2019, more than one third said they’d made budget sacrifices to afford menstrual products, including sacrifices to rent and food.

More than two thirds of the same participants said they’d missed out on activities because of their periods and concerns about not being able to access menstrual products or proper facilities.

Brown said she hopes that HPL will “clear the path” for Halifax Regional Municipality to address period poverty.

In May, regional council requested a staff report to consider offering free menstrual products in all municipal community centres, pools and arenas, as a pilot project.

Brown suggested that council simply use the library as a template.

“The city doesn’t have to waste all this time and energy, they should just (say) ‘OK, the library is doing it, we’re doing it.’”

Kachan said some library branches have partnered with community health boards to pay for the menstrual products and others are using their supply budgets.

“I know of staff who would share their own supply as well,” she added.

As people become aware of the program, Kachan said she expects to see an increase in demand. If it were to become too costly to keep up, she said she’s confident HPL could work with partners to keep the service going.

Kachan said offering free menstrual products aligns with the libraries’ goals of “breaking down barriers in our community” and supporting participation in all the libraries’ services.

“It’s an important issue of equity and dignity in our community and public libraries are a great way to reach people.”

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