Boston Public Library will now have tampons in men's bathrooms permanently.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the city's Office of Women’s Advancement announced an expansion of its Menstrual Equity Initiative last spring.
The move means that a pilot program that made menstrual products, including tampons and pads, free at six Boston Public Library branches, will remain permanent. People can find those products in all bathrooms at those six locations, "regardless of gender," according to a city press release.
Those locations include: Brighton, Codman Square, East Boston, the North End, Mattapan, and Roxbury, as previously reported by NewBostonPost.
“Ensuring that residents have equitable access to menstrual products is critical for their health and well-being,” Wu said in the release. "As we continue our work to make Boston a city for everyone, we are thrilled to expand this initiative citywide, remove barriers and provide critical products and services to residents and families."
The pilot program began in September 2023. The city partnered with Aunt Flow to provide these menstrual products. Additionally, Boston partnered with Love Your Menses, Inc. to host monthly community workshops about menstrual education.
"The pilot program provided an inclusive and stigma-free space for learning and laid the foundation for broader implementation citywide," the release said.
Boston Chief of Equity and Inclusion Mariangely Solis Cervera said she thinks continuing the initiative will help people.
"When I talk with young people, parents, and community leaders, I hear the same message over and over: access to menstrual products changes lives,” Cervera said in the release. “It means students can stay in school, workers don’t have to miss a shift, and families don’t have to make impossible choices. This expansion is a direct response to what our residents have told us, and it’s a reminder that equity is about listening, learning, and acting together."
Additionally, the city is now offering free menstrual products at Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) facilities. It has also partnered with MassNOW to offer training sessions that it hopes will help Boston Public Schools and Boston Public Library, "talk more openly and confidently with youth and families about menstrual health," the release said.
Commissioner of Boston Centers for Youth & Families Marta E. Rivera called menstrual product access "a right."
"We believe that access to menstrual products is a fundamental right," Rivera said. "Through the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement Menstrual Equity Initiative, we are proud to be the first city department to offer free menstrual products later this fall in all of our BCYF facilities. This initiative helps ensure that our community centers are welcoming and equitable spaces for all."