I am pleased to present this bill to the Assembly. The bill is the culmination of over a year of work, during which I have had the absolute pleasure to work on with many people, including Labor Party members, community members, not-for-profit organisations, workers and their representatives, and my Assembly colleagues.
The genesis for working to tackle period poverty came when a member of my Labor sub-branch, fellow Gungahlin resident and friend Pradeep Sornaraj, raised the issue with me in 2020. Pradeep originally hails from southern India. He told me about the severe issues that people often face in India when it comes to period poverty. These issues in India are linked to not only the general poverty that a large proportion of the population experience but also strong cultural taboo and stigma.
Several years ago, Pradeep, who was living in Ngunnawal at the time, approached the Ngunnawal street pantries as a volunteer. This led to him learning how in demand period products are through the pantry, and deciding to run a Christmas collection drive at his workplace for the Ngunnawal street pantries. Pradeep explained that he was surprised that, in a wealthy city, these issues still existed, even if not to the same extent as they might in India. The demand for period products is still present and it is growing, as noted by the good work of the Ngunnawal street pantries.
I would also like to acknowledge that Pradeep and the many people who have worked on this bill are here today to see it introduced.
Share the Dignity reports in their “bloody big survey” that 15 per cent of those who menstruate in the ACT have experienced period poverty at some point in their lives. I note that this is also reflected in the submissions that I received through the consultation on this bill. I had a number of submission from younger people who were experiencing issues with period poverty, and a number of older women wrote to me or spoke to me, explaining that this had been an issue for them when they were younger and that they did not want others to have to experience it.
In 2021 the ACT Labor conference passed a resolution changing our party platform and calling on Labor MLAs to tackle period poverty through our work here in the Assembly. I decided that legislation could be a good mechanism to take this forward, and that is what I have brought forward today.
The bill was influenced by the world-first Period Products (Free Provision) Act that was passed unanimously by the Scottish parliament in 2020. That bill mandates provision of products at public buildings in Scotland administered by local counties.
While this has been a really significant step forward, I would also like to acknowledge that there have been decades of activism by many individuals within our community, including those that I have already mentioned, to make sure that women have access to menstrual products, including fighting to have GST removed from period products and now looking at how we can make products more accessible to everyone in our community who needs them.
Looking at the Scottish example, obviously, our legislative and administrative systems are different from those in Scotland, but the basic premise of the bill was inspired by Scotland’s model. My bill, the Period Products and Facilities (Access) Bill 2022, has five parts, which I will now explain.
Part 1 of the bill includes the standard items for a bill, plus the meaning of period poverty. The act is to commence on a day fixed by the minister, no later than six months from the notification date. The object of the act is to reduce and prevent period poverty in the ACT by the provision of free access to period products, improvement of access to facilities, and provision of information about menstruation and menstrual hygiene to different sections of the community.
Period poverty is defined as being prevented from accessing period products, menstrual hygiene information, toilets, handwashing facilities or sanitary waste facilities because of different circumstances, including financial, social, cultural or physical circumstances.
Part 2 of the bill sets out ways that period products are to be provided and where they are to be provided. It can be broken down into three sections: suitable public places; approved suitable non-government sector places, such as an NGO who provides homelessness services, for example; and education settings.
The bill sets out a requirement for the minister to maintain a list of public places which are suitable for distribution of period products for those who need them. The list must include a range of geographical locations which will allow for reasonable access for those experiencing period poverty. Non-government entities which have been approved through an approval process to receive and distribute period products will also be included on this list.
The bill sets out that it will then be the director-general’s responsibility to ensure that this provision is undertaken according to access arrangements to be written for each suitable place. It will be the responsibility of each non-government entity approved to distribute products to comply with their own access arrangements.
Access arrangements must be made by the director-general responsible for administration of the suitable place in writing for each of the suitable places. For example, access arrangements for libraries would be the responsibility of the Director-General of Transport Canberra and City Services. The access arrangements must provide for access in a way that respects the dignity of the person accessing the product and for a reasonable range of products being available.
Private entities can apply to be on the suitable places list and be permitted to distribute period products if they provide services to people who are likely to be experiencing period poverty and if they meet any additional requirements of approval guidelines. The responsible entity for an approved suitable place must report to the director-general regarding their compliance each year. The director-general can remove an approved entity from the list for failure to comply. The approval guidelines must be made by the director-general. An education provider must ensure period products are made available on the provider’s premises free of charge for students of the provider experiencing period poverty.
The dictionary of the bill defines education providers as a government school, a registered training organisation under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act, a registered training organisation under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act, and any other entity prescribed by regulation.
It will be incumbent upon private schools, universities and vocational training providers to provide period products to students in need on their premises. The director-general will be responsible for making publicly available access arrangements for government schools, and private institutions will be responsible for making access arrangements available to the students of the institution.
Period poverty can come about due to financial worries and issues with accessing products; also, problems with access to facilities, both at home or at work, can cause someone to experience period poverty. I have expanded the scope of the bill that was originally drafted to begin to help to prevent some of these issues.
Through the extensive consultation that I undertook with my office on the crafting of this bill, several female workers who have previously undertaken or are currently doing territory-funded work informed me that, in some circumstances, there can be issues with facilities at the sites where they work. This ranged from having been to a worksite with no facilities to going onsite and women’s toilets being locked, meaning that the employee needed to ask the manager for a key every time they needed to use the bathroom. That is why the requirements in the bill for workers has included not only access but dignified access to facilities. You should not have to ask for a key to use the bathroom at work, whether you are managing your period or not.
Part 3 of the bill explicitly mandates that ACT public service employees and workers who are undertaking territory-funded work must have access to adequate facilities. Additionally, this part of the bill provides a specific clause for reporting issues by ACT public service employees.
Part 4 of the bill outlines a requirement for the director-general to write guidelines in compliance with the act for any industry or sector which is deemed to need them. The guidelines can outline procedures for providing these facilities with a reasonable amount of privacy, for those accessing the facility, and procedures for protecting the personal information of those people.
While overcoming the physical barriers which can cause period poverty is possible, it is also important to work to reduce the less tangible barriers which exist. Another significant cause of period poverty, cultural stigma and the behaviours that go with it, can cause shame and silence when it comes to menstruation. This cultural stigma has been, and is still, present in all cultures, ranging from mild discomfort in discussing this natural bodily process to ostracism of those menstruating or expressions of disgust.
Talking about periods and providing more education material are important steps in reducing this stigma so that learning the necessary information about period management is easier for everyone.
While some of this information is already, and will continue to be, available through formal education, for those who might not have been educated in Australia or
need different or additional information, it is particularly important that they have access to it.
Part 4 of this bill outlines requirements around the provision of publicly accessible information about menstruation. This information must be available in the community, including publishing it on an ACT government website. The director-general must take reasonable steps to make sure this information is published in languages other than English, and specifically for people who might be at risk of period poverty in the ACT, and ensuring that there is also age-appropriate information available.
Part 5, which is the final part of the bill, sets out a statement about the operation of the act and must be included in each administering directorate’s annual report. This statement must also include information about any reports made regarding a lack of access to facilities reported by ACT public service employees, as per section 17 of the act. A standard review period of three years has been included in this part of the act, including requiring a report for presentation to the Assembly. Finally, the bill gives regulation-making power for the act to the executive.
While it is important to provide colleagues with a run-through of the bill that is being presented to this place, it is also important to examine the impact that this bill will have within our community. Period poverty can present real and devastating problems for those experiencing it. Those who do not have access to period products are often left to improvise in any way that they can. This can involve using household items like newspaper, paper towel or toilet paper, for example, instead of sanitary pads.
This can lead to infection through contaminants on those improvised items or leaking and other accidents due to those items not being fit for purpose. There can be cases where period products are used for too long—generally, for more than four hours—due to a lack of access to fresh product. Again this can lead to infection and health implications. This is particularly a problem with tampons. Infections like this can cause long-term discomfort and health issues, including sepsis, which can be fatal if left untreated.
A lack of access to period products can also impact a person’s social life, education and work life. If you are having issues with managing your period due to product access problems, you are more likely to miss social events, school, university or other classes, and even need to take time off work. As I noted earlier, a lack of education or information about period management can have similar effects. Within our society there is still a large amount of stigma about a process that around half of us experience every month for most of our adult lives.
In some segments of the community, cultural influences mean that this taboo and stigma are greatly heightened. This can lead to isolation, a lack of confidence, improvisation of period management and the subsequent social, professional and educational impacts that I have already mentioned.
Periods happen no matter where you might be. They happen at home, at school and while you are out or at work. Having the facilities to manage your period at those
times is vital to your health and wellbeing. I hope that, with the support of members in this place, the Period Products and Facilities (Access) Bill 2022 will begin to alleviate some of the issues that I have outlined.
I am very pleased to present my bill to this place today. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
