How Free Sanitary Products In Schools Could Help Tackle Period Poverty Today is international Menstrual Hygiene Day and still kids go to school without regular access to pads or tampons in Australia. We missed you too. Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, so you always know where to find us. Getting your period in your primary or high school years can be painful, stressful and scary. Yet only half of our states and territories help students by providing them free sanitary items. Period poverty, or the inability to access period products due to “financial barriers, lack of resources, or discrimination” can become a serious barrier to education, Junkee reported in February.