There are only 10 Students’ Unions that give out free tampons

End the tampon tax


Great Britain just agreed a deal in the EU to end the tampon tax, but some Students’ Unions hand sanitary products out for free. 

We asked them whether they give out free tampons. Out of the 49 Student Unions we asked, only 20 responded, of which 10 said that they are giving out free tampons or other sanitary products.

A further seven said that although they don’t give out free tampons, they do cover the price of the VAT and sell them to students at cost price.

Other Students’ Unions said that they were working towards being able to give out free tampons.

Student Unions that are currently giving out free tampons

Birmingham, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Leicester, Newcastle, Manchester,  Plymouth, St. Andrews, Stirling, Sussex.

Student Unions that cover the cost of the ‘tampon tax’

Cambridge, Exeter, King’s College London, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton, UEA and York.

Student Unions working towards free tampons

UEA elected an SU Women’s Officer who promised free tampons in her manifesto. Strathclyde are working towards providing them at cost price.

Student Unions that no longer provide free tampons

Bristol provided them for free last year for a month, but no longer do.

Student Unions who didn’t respond

Aberdeen, Aberystwyth, Aston, Bath, Belfast, Brookes, Cardiff, Chester, Dundee, Durham, Glasgow, Hull, John Moores, Kent, Lincoln, Liverpool, Loughborough, Northumbria, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary, Reading, Royal Holloway, Sheffield, Trent, UCLan, UWE and Warwick.