What NZ’s universities have said about supplying free tampons

Spoiler alert: not enough 

Whether women like it or not, every month they must deal with a bloody mess in-between their legs. It seems odd, then, that something so natural, so necessary for the survival of the human race, is the cause of worry and stress for young women across the country.  

A month's supply of tampons or pads (or both) costs between $5-15. It might not sound like much, but after rent food and bills, there’s not a lot left over.

University student Siobhan O'Connor said when her period came a day or two before her pay came through, it put her under extra pressure. "There's nothing I can do to stop my period so [I'm] borrowing off friends, borrowing money off family. It has a huge impact on me.”

Recently, New York City council voted to introduce free tampons and pads to the city's public schools, prisons and homeless shelters.

Makes sense.

So what did our top universities say when asked if they’d consider doing the same thing?

• The Auckland University of Technology said it had programmes in place to help students suffering from financial hardship and was not currently considering providing free sanitary products.

• Lincoln University said it had no plans to introduce free sanitary products as it has not been identified as an area of need by its student population.

• The University of Canterbury said its health centre gave out sanitary products to students on a case-by-case basis, but told RNZ to contact its student union to discuss its hardship fund.

• The University of Otago said the university "was not running such an initiative, although our student body is so Otago is doing something, but it is being driven by students".

• A Waikato University spokesperson said it worked with the student union to provide supermarket vouchers from time to time for struggling students, however it was happy to consider any proposals from the Waikato Students' Union if there was an issue.

• A Victoria University spokesperson said the idea of it providing sanitary items was not a matter that had previously been raised directly by students, but it was "willing to work with students to fully understand the issues and implications of the concerns that have been raised".

Massey University and the University of Auckland did not provide a comment.

Linsey Higgins, President of the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations, said she wasn’t impressed with the responses and expected universities to take a more proactive approach. “Some were surprised, which I think is possibly due to the gender makeup at the higher end of the intuitions,” she said.

“Condoms are free and sanitary products are more essential than condoms.”

Reporting by RNZ journalist, Laura Bootham