LA Aims For 'Hygiene Equity' With Free Menstrual Products

LOS ANGELES, CA — If the toilet paper is free, why not tampons? Los Angeles city leaders commissioned a report on the matter Wednesday to find out how much it would cost to provide free feminine hygiene products at city-owned facilities.

Councilman Bob Blumenfield championed the issue to help reduce the financial burden on women and achieve hygiene equity in Los Angeles, he said. Blumenfield cited a report finding that women in the United States face economic inequities associated with basic hygiene compared to their male counterparts.

"It's time to end the stigma around periods and menstrual health that has kept policymakers dragging their feet," Blumenfield said. "Providing feminine hygiene products at no cost in city-owned facilities should be just as normal as providing toilet paper or soap."

Blumenfield cited a report in the pier-reviewed journal Obstetrics and Gynecology from 2019 that found nearly two thirds of low-income women surveyed in a major city could not afford menstrual hygiene products. It stated more than one in five women said they had the problem for an entire year.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget proposal this year calls for a two-year moratorium on taxing menstrual products and diapers.

"Providing feminine hygiene products in city-owned facilities is the next logical step, and I believe it can help a lot of women at minimal cost to the taxpayers," Blumenfield said.

The report will be conducted by the city's Department of Recreation and Parks and the Department of General Services and brought back to the City Council.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.