Launched at the start of the 2021 school year in university residences and restaurants, distributors of periodic protection suffer from a lack of means and communication.
by Sandrine Tran
In the central courtyard of Paris VIII University in Saint-Denis, the students pout. Eva, in Master 2 of political science, made no head: “I have never seen distributors in college, I do not believe that there are.” The same observation for Mahel in a license of psychology, or Still Bénédicte in the first year of info-com, which have never heard of the system. And yet: nestled in the toilets near the university restaurant, two distributors of stamps and towels are well hung on the wall.
In February 2021, Frédérique Vidal, then Minister of Higher Education and Research, announced the deployment of 1,500 distributors from the start of the 2021 school year in restaurants and university residences managed by the Crous. If the measure wanted to be a rapid and concrete response to the menstrual student precariousness, in particular in a post-confectional context where many young people had lost their jobs, the returns are now mixed.
More than a year after their implementation, the associative actors point to a “lack of means”. In fact, 1036 distributors were installed, not 1500. “I do not remember this announcement, but what is certain is that we have fully respected what was expected of us, replies Dominique Marchandle , President of CUSS, who oversees the 26 CROUS in charge of managing the system on a regional scale. In total, 717 distributors were installed in the 708 residences, and 319 in the 204 catering places. This corresponds to around 1 million euros of spending this year. For 2023, 2 million specific credits are provided for by the ministry. “
With this budget, since the start of the 2021 school year, 12 million buffers and towels have been distributed, not to mention the punctual donations of companies or associations. But the implementation of distributors does not correspond to the daily uses of students according to the association Rules Elementary, which fights against menstrual precariousness. “All students in precarious situations do not necessarily have access to university restaurants which can be located outside the campuses”, regrets Justine Okolodkoff, responsible for content and awareness within the association.
Arwen says he discovered these distributors “by going to the laundromat of [his] residence”. In the first year of license in Paris, it has a scholarship of 513 euros per month. “My parents help me by paying my rent, but as I have abundant flows, I buy towels for the night that cost more.” Distributors do not meet its needs, since “the stock of towels is always empty”. For Sophia, student in a license of psychology in Strasbourg, it is the same observation: “In the distributor of my laundromat, there are only stamps, and I am not comfortable with.” The student , who lives with 421 euros of scholarship, therefore shares the costs with his boyfriend: “Since I carry the contraceptive charge in our couple, he wanted to help me, and pays each month half of my protections.”
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