Free Menstrual Products at FASoS and UM-wide

As of this week, there are free menstrual products available in four bathrooms at FASoS.

Did you forget a tampon or pad at home? Don’t worry, we got you!

This initiative is led by UM staff members (one here at FASoS) and Feminists of Maastricht. This initiative received a D&I grant earlier this year with the vision of contributing to putting an end to period poverty. The project will run for one year as a pilot.

Bathrooms with products in them are located in: Grote Gracht 76, 76S, 80 and 90. Keep an eye out for our interactive map and full list of bathrooms across UM!

Inspired by the new legislation in Scotland and similar developments in New Zealand to end period poverty, our initiative aims at providing free menstrual products for students and staff at Maastricht University. Providing free menstrual products are twofold: it will contribute to a more inclusive environment at UM as it will help to break down the period stigma and support people who have difficulties affording menstrual products. Period products are basic and essential healthcare items, therefore, we believe it is necessary that UM provides these free of charge for those in need.

With the D&I grant, we will carry out a one-year pilot study. This includes providing menstrual products in selected restrooms at several UM faculties. One problem is that menstruation is often deemed shameful, aversive, and unclean which contributes to a vicious cycle of silence: the menstrual taboo. Our initiative aims to effectively break this silence by – next to providing menstrual products – creating an educational campaign on the menstruation stigma. This will include workshops and discussions on the menstrual taboo, the need for increased awareness on menstruation, and the issue of period poverty. A monitoring and evaluation component is also part of the project, aiming to identify the long-term implementation possibilities at UM.

We represent the student organisation Feminists of Maastricht. In collaboration with staff members and UM building managers, we are confident to take on this important task and convinced that providing free menstrual products would make UM a more inclusive university.

To follow the project, check out our Instagram page: @bloodyserious_um