Briefing Paper: Assessing the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 as Model Menstruation Legislation

Bettina Bildhauer*, Camilla Mørk Røstvik, Sharra Vostral

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This briefing paper discusses how to include historical perspectives to assess the potential success for current and future menstruation legislation. The case of Scotland provides an instructive example of law-making about free period products and period poverty. While commercial products are perceived as a solution, historical research suggests that cultural attitudes, lingering stigma, and regional differences affect opportunities for passing laws.

Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalOpen Library of Humanities
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Funding

This paper is based on ‘Ending Period Poverty in Scotland: A Historical and International Perspective’ funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Arts and Humanities Research Network Award from 2020 to 2022 (grant number 64992), and administratively based at the University of St Andrews with Principal Investigator Bettina Bildhauer and Co-Investigators Sharra Vostral and Camilla Mørk Røstvik. The project brought together scholars from various disciplines and countries to research the role of the Scottish debate around Period Poverty, and the subsequent Act. Our research was published in 2022 as a Special Collection in the Open Library of Humanities, titled The Politics and History of Menstruation: Contextualising the Scottish Campaign to End Period Poverty. The editors want to thank the project team for all their hard work; thank you to our collection authors Pavel Vasiliyev, Noelle Spencer, Catherine Spencer, Lara Owen, Alexandra Konovalova, Bee Hughes, Saniya Lee Ghanoui, Gayle Davis and Jessica Campbell, researcher Andrea Ens, and our advisers Hilary Critchley and Rachel Vette. Special thanks to Lara Owen, Bee Hughes, and Jessica Campbell for project administration and to Lara Owen for copyediting. Thank you to the Royal Society of Edinburgh for funding this project. Thank you to Open Library of Humanities and the team for all their support. Thank you to Bee Hughes and Bibo Keeley for artwork rights. Our sincere thanks to the archives and collections that made the work possible: Edinburgh Surgeons Hall, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh University Library, Cyrenians charity, Glasgow Women’s Library, Hunterian Library, University of Glasgow Library, and University of St Andrews Library and Special Collections

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Anthropology
  • General Arts and Humanities
  • Sociology and Political Science

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