The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have announced a remarkable initiative: they will be the first NRL club to provide free menstrual products in female restrooms and locker rooms.
If you get your period en route to the NRL’s Women In League Round at Belmore Sports Ground this weekend, you can breathe a sigh of relief — the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have got you sorted.
The Bulldogs are set to become the first NRL club to provide free ongoing menstrual products in female restrooms and locker rooms. The club has partnered with hygiene experts Rentokil Initial to equip all public restrooms and female locker rooms at Belmore Sports Ground with dispensers and sanitary bins.
So, whether you’re a player, a club employee, a fan, or a visitor, your menstrual needs will be met, alleviating the stress of unexpected periods in the early stressful atmosphere of rooting for your team.
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While acknowledging the progress made by European sporting organisations in providing complimentary menstrual products to employees and athletes, Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton is proud to be an Australian pioneer of this dignity-based programme.
Warburton believes that providing these necessities is not only a thoughtful gesture but also an important part of their commitment to assisting women in achieving success on and off the field. „Central to this new partnership,“ Warburton acknowledges, „is a shared vision that menstruation should never be an obstacle for women participating in Rugby League or restrict them from giving their best.“
The decision to provide free menstrual products, according to Lauren Milner, the Bulldogs‘ Female Football Operations Coordinator, is a „no-brainer.“ „I bring period products to every practice and game,“ Milner says because it’s so common for her to be approached by young players who are caught off guard by their period.
Karen Kavanagh, Marketing Director Pacific at Rentokil Initial, asserts, „Washroom dignity is a conversation that has been largely ignored in many businesses for years.“ According to a recent Rentokil Initial and Researchify study, 61 per cent of working women in Australia experience stress and anxiety due to a lack of access to menstruation and incontinence products at work.
More than half of them had to miss work to buy sanitary products, which isn’t always an option for elite athletes and others in demanding professions.
It’s a sign that menstruation is finally being accepted and normalised in sports, and we applaud it! So go ahead and root for your favourite team this weekend, knowing that the Bulldogs have your back.