Free sanitary products are to be provided at all schools beginning with the new academic year starting in August, benefiting an estimated 95,000 people, the Ministry of Education said yesterday.
Speaking at a legislative committee hearing on International Women’s Day yesterday, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said sanitary pads and tampons would be provided at schools of all levels, as well as facilities administered by the Ministry of Education.
About NT$120 million (US$3.9 million) has been earmarked for the project, to be allocated to local governments, he said.
Photo: CNA
Pan also said that the ministry “in principle” supports setting up gender-neutral restrooms in schools.
The ministry launched the initiative to address the intersection of “period poverty” — a lack of access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities and adequate education — and economic disadvantage, said Hsieh Chang-yun (謝昌運), director of the ministry’s Department of Student Affairs and Special Education.
Education would be provided about different sanitary product options with respect to students’ personal choice, Hsieh said.
The ministry is also developing educational and counseling measures to help students through the emotional and physical discomfort experienced during periods, he added.
Local governments and schools would be responsible for determining whether the products would be provided directly to individual students or via coupons to purchase themselves, with consideration to the location and resources of each school, Hsieh said.
For tertiary institutions, the funds would be included in existing financial aid for disadvantaged students, he said.
For other students, universities and colleges could set a location where sanitary products would be provided, he added.
People in need could go to buildings administered by the ministry to retrieve sanitary products at the information counter, breastfeeding rooms or medical centers, Hsieh said.
Additionally, the ministry would improve education around human rights, gender equality and menstruation, Hsieh said.
It would also create more teaching materials in different media for teachers to use, he added.
Separately yesterday, the Kaohsiung City Government announced that tourism sites across the city would be stocked with sanitary products free of charge.
All 14 travel spots administered by the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau — including the airport and train station — partner businesses and more than 50 hotels are to join the initiative, bureau Director Kao Min-lin (高閔琳) said.
Notices would be posted in the toilets at scenic spots to inform visitors of where to retrieve the products, Kao said.
Additional reporting by Wang Jung-hsiang
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
RSS