On Monday, October 18, 2021, Cleveland City Councilor Jasmin Santana proposed new legislation that would make menstrual products free in town halls and city entertainment centers. Cleveland recently being claimed as the poorest big city in the United States has made it extremely difficult for womb carriers to afford menstrual products — this bill has shone a light on the high demand for these items in low-income areas.
According to Daily Cleveland News, a person who menstruates invests $13.25 a month on period products, this adds up to be greater than $6,300 in their reproductive lifetime. Many wombs carriers do not have the money to buy these products every month…forcing them to decide between food or period care; a bill that proposes to make menstrual products easier to access for poorer communities would be extremely beneficial to menstruators.
It’s no secret that toilet paper and other hygiene products are provided for free in these same areas — so why not menstrual products?
The Santana bill would encourage the general public jobs supervisors to join agreements for acquiring these menstrual products, item dispensers, literary works on menstrual health and menstrual justice.
This bill will have such a great impact on menstruators who live in Cleveland and it’ll be interesting to see if other cities start to follow suit.
