The Helsinki City Council approved a trial to provide free period products to schoolchildren in the city on Wednesday.

The trial is the result of an initiative launched by Greens League representatives and Helsinki City Council members Amanda Pasanen, Fatim Diarra and Alviina Alametsä.

The initiative, which seeks to combat period poverty by granting those with limited resources access to free period products, was signed by 21 other council members.

Period poverty refers to the lack of access to menstrual hygiene tools due to monetary constraints.

According to the initiative, menstrual hygiene products take up a significant portion of the monthly budget for people belonging to low-income groups. The initiative states that no one should have to choose whether to spend their money on food or menstrual products.

The city's education division is currently determining how to implement the trial. It has already mapped out the costs and means of distributing the supplies.

Free hygiene products will likely be offered in primary and secondary schools across Helsinki.

The Helsinki Youth Council has voiced its support for the initiative in a statement. The council comprises 30 members aged 13-17 years old, who are elected every two years.

According to the council, the availability of hygiene products in schools will teach young people that menstruation is a perfectly natural process that can and should be spoken about.

Scotland set the trend

The city councillors' initiative reportedly took inspiration from Scotland, which became the first country in the world to introduce free period products for women in November.

Local authorities in the country are now legally obliged to ensure that menstrual hygiene tools are available for free to anyone who needs them, according to the BBC.

The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill was the brainchild of Monica Lennon, a member of the Scottish parliament who has been campaigning to end period poverty since 2016.

In the city councillors' initiative; however, Pasanen states that period poverty remains a taboo, and that little has been done to tackle it so far.