Today is a landmark in the journey to combat period poverty in Northern Ireland, with women now having the legal right of free access to items such as tampons and sanitary pads.
This is possible due to legislation made by the last assembly. The Period Products (Free Provision) Act, which was passed into law in 2022, started as a private member’s bill driven by Pat Catney, an SDLP MLA in the last assembly.
Now that the assembly is back, Stormont has been able to make the necessary regulations to bring the law into force from today, meaning period products should be freely available, in a dignified and confidential way, in schools, colleges and public buildings.
“It’s a significant day”, says Mr Catney. No longer in the assembly - he lost his Lagan Valley seat in the 2022 election - but now a Lisburn and Castlereagh councillor, Mr Catney says that period products “will be accessible to everyone”.
“I’m the father of three daughters and the brother of four sisters; this changes things for them.
“For my three little granddaughters as well - it’s something that they won’t have to worry about.”
Mr Catney explains that providing access to free sanitary products will help to restore a sense of dignity and also play a role in preventing infections and other health related issues.
“What people don’t realise is that not having access to these products is a health issue. I heard stories about how young women have been forced to use toilet paper, old rags and even newspaper as alternatives which can only lead to more serious health problems,” he says.
“If a man was having these types of problems, it would have been sorted out in the stone age.”
Mr Catney, a former publican, may seem an unlikely advocate to combat period poverty, but says it was the passion of activists and the experiences of those who came forward with their stories of struggle that inspired him to get involved.
“I was thinking about the cost of these products,” he says of when he started developing his private member’s bill in 2020.
“I know most women and girls can afford and have access to these products but if you’re a woman who, for example, is suffering from domestic violence or have been put out of your house they can be very expensive.
“So, I decided I was going to try my best to bring in a bill that will make these products available for every person who needs them.
“At times people gave me a little bit of stick, saying a man of nearly 70 years of age couldn’t empathise with the issue.
“I don’t think they really understood what I was trying to do. But I don’t care – I am absolutely elated that my name is on that bill.”
What people don’t realise is that not having access to these products is a health issue. I heard stories about how young women have been forced to use toilet paper, old rags and even newspaper as alternatives which can only lead to more serious health problems
— Pat Catney
Many activists worked alongside Mr Catney, relentlessly campaigning to ensure the bill became law, including Menstruation Matters.
“We are delighted to say the date has been confirmed for when we’ll start to see the roll out of free period products in public buildings after campaigning to help pass the law back in 2022,” it said in a statement on X, adding: “Spread the word.”
The bill also had a unifying effect in the assembly.
“Men and women from all of the parties – from the DUP, Sinn Féin the Alliance party, the Ulster Unionists and even the independents came round and supported me” says Mr Catney.
It now falls to the various Stormont departments to provide period products in relevant buildings. A spokesperson for the Executive Office said it had been “working with a delivery partner to ensure free period products are publicly available at various locations from May 13 2024″. It said that approximately £65,000 had been provided to a “delivery partner to prepare for implementation”.
Mr Catney believes his experience behind the bar helped him get the bill into law.
“Go for small wins that make a difference - I used to run a bar and that was the way of the bar,” he adds.
“You had to be as neutral as you possibly could be and those were my politics when I was an MLA.
“When I sit down and I think about it and I think about those two years and working through all of the difficulties that we had, gathering up all the required information and pushing that bill through as quickly as we did, it makes me feel very proud.
“If I do nothing else in politics again that’s something that I can say I’m very glad I was a part of.”
