Vancouver Island University (VIU) will soon have free menstrual products in washrooms at all their campuses and facilities.
Products including tampons, pads and panty liners will be in all of VIU’s women’s and gender-neutral bathrooms.
“This is a barrier to accessing education that VIU is pleased to be able to remove,” said Irlanda Gonzalez Price, VIU associate vice-president of student affairs.
“No one should have the experience of going without these necessary products while learning. I want to thank the VIU Students’ Union (VIUSU) for bringing this important issue to our attention and partnering with us on the rollout of this initiative.”
Bins are currently being placed in the washrooms.
“Menstrual inequity impacts us all,” said Cole Reinbold, VIUSU women students’ representative.
“It’s a relief to know that people who menstruate can now participate in our campus community with one less barrier to overcome. I’m so glad to see VIU working alongside VIUSU to freely provide these products in our facilities.”
The university held a soft-launch for this initiative in the fall of 2021 in the cafeteria, library and gym at the Nanaimo campus.
