HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio — More than 70 free period product dispensers have been installed in public restrooms throughout Hamilton County.
The Hamilton County Commission on Women & Girls announced the county purchased 110 dispensers from a local small business, installing 72 dispensers in public women and gender-neutral bathrooms in all county-owned administrative buildings. Those buildings include the Hamilton County Justice Center, Times-Star Building, Taft Law Center and more.
A full list can be found below:
- Taft Law Center: 4 dispensers
- 800 Broadway Building/Times-Star: 19 dispensers
- Todd B. Portune Center for County Government: 8 dispensers
- Hamilton County Courthouse: 6 dispensers
- Hamilton County Public Health Department at 250 William Howard Taft: 6 dispensers
- Hamilton County Job and Family Services' Alms & Doepke Building: 21 dispensers
- Hamilton County Justice Center: 2 dispensers
- Hamilton County Juvenile Court at 2020 Auburn Avenue: 2 dispensers
- Hamilton County Coroner’s Office and Crime Lab: 2 dispensers
- Hamilton County Communication Center: 1 dispenser
- Sheriff Patrol Headquarters: 1 dispenser
"We know that period poverty is real. When there is access to free period products, students stay in class longer and workers are more productive,” Denise Driehaus, founder of the Commission on Women & Girls, said in a release. "We need to go beyond the stigma and see period products for what they are — a basic necessity."
The commission previously worked on the repeal of the "Pink Tax" in Ohio, a sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products. It also pushes for free period products in schools and businesses.
"We never question offering free toilet paper and soap in public restrooms," Commission President Stephanie Summerow Dumas said in a release. "Why would we not offer the same essential access to basic hygiene products like tampons and pads?"
According to the commission, there are over 200,000 people who are of "reproductive age" in Hamilton County. The American Medical Association reports the average lifetime cost of period products is about $1,800.
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