Pohang City Installs Free Sanitary Pad Dispensers at Two Public Facilities to Promote Women's Health Rights... Spreading Awareness of Sanitary Pads as Public Goods

Installation of Hand Dryers in Restrooms at Poeun Central Library and Women's Culture Center

Establishment of Basis for New Provisions in Gender Equality Basic Ordinance Last Year

Pohang City installed free sanitary pad dispensers at two public facilities to promote women's health rights.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Pohang City, Gyeongbuk, has installed emergency sanitary pad vending machines free of charge at two public facilities for the first time in Gyeongbuk to promote women's health rights, and has begun a pilot operation.

The free vending machines are installed in the women's restrooms of ‘Poeun Central Library’ and ‘Women’s Culture Center,’ which are frequently used by women and adolescents. The machines are lever-type, with a basic size (67cm×48.5cm, 18cm), dispensing sanitary pads when the handle is turned. Each vending machine is stocked with 23 to 46 organic cotton sanitary pads.

As public awareness has recently spread recognizing sanitary pads as a ‘public good,’ the city added a clause to the Pohang City Gender Equality Basic Ordinance last year to establish a basis for providing sanitary products in public facilities for emergencies. After monitoring daily sanitary pad usage and citizen satisfaction, the city plans to decide whether to expand installation.

Cho Hyun-mi, head of the Women and Family Division, said, “We hope the emergency sanitary pad vending machines will be usefully utilized by women and adolescents with irregular menstrual cycles,” adding, “We will continue to prepare various policies considerate of women to develop Pohang into a women-friendly city where women can live well.”

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