Half of Qld primary schools without free period products for students

Queensland schools are failing to protect young students' dignity, with 440 primary schools yet to install free period product machines despite rising need.

The average age for a girl to get their first period is now 12.

Less than half of Queensland primary school students have access to free period products.

The problem is aired in the Queensland Teachers’ Union’s latest journal, which reveals just 490 of 930 state primary schools have had Dignity Vending Machines – which stock period products – installed.

GP Dr Maria Boulton said girls were getting their period younger – some as young as nine – and it was vital primary school-aged girls had access to products.

“If you have a child without access to quality sanitary products, then it does impact their ability to enjoy life ...and self-esteem. It may impact their ability to participate in life normally,” she said.

Dr Maria Boulton said easy access to period products could help girls with their self esteem. Picture: Russell Shakespeare

“We think that everyone should have access to these products regardless of age, where you live and where you go to school. So I think it’s something that certainly bears consideration … and the tricky thing about primary school is that you just don’t know when your first period is going to come.”

Dr Boulton said data from the 1840s showed girls were getting their period at 17 on average. But from 2000 onwards, the average age was 12 in most developed countries.

“But certainly you can get some girls who can get them earlier,” Dr Boulton said.

“There’s some data from the 1800s and if you look at the data over time, there has been a decrease of the age of menarche, which is the first period.”

QTU president Cresta Richardson said the union encouraged all state schools to access available funding to ensure students had access to “Share the Dignity” resources.

“State schools represent a cross-section of our community, including families struggling with the current cost-of-living crisis,” she said.

Teachers’ Union President Cresta Richardson says the QTU supports the supply of menstrual products to students. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Ms Richardson said the QTU was fighting to resource and modernise state schools and called on all members of the community to support union members and students in these school communities.

“It’s essential that students have discreet and respectful access to menstrual products to ensure they attend school,” she said.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it had partnered with Share the Dignity since 2021 to install 820 DVMs, including at about 490 state primary schools.

A Share the Dignity spokeswoman said its research found 60 per cent of students found it was hard to afford period products and 63 per cent had missed school due to their period.

More than 800 dignity vending machines have been installed in Qld state schools since 2021.

“Our assumption is that primary schools believe their students are too young to have their period, so it doesn’t apply to them. However, our Bloody Big Survey found that over 21 per cent of respondents were between the ages of 8 and 11 when they had their first period, highlighting the importance of having Dignity Vending Machines in primary schools too,” she said.

The spokesman said primary schools were actively encouraged to register for a free DVM.

Originally published as Half of Qld primary schools without free period products for students