Free Sanitary Napkin Service OiTr Begins

In May 2022, Sophia University introduced a service to provide free sanitary napkins on campus. The smartphone app OiTr is used at a dispenser to get a free sanitary napkin. The university has been working with students to introduce this service, including the locations of dispensers, based on a survey conducted by the extracurricular activities group Gender Equality for Sophia. He Jiayi, a third-year student in the Department of Management in the Faculty of Economics and a member of Gender Equality for Sophia, notes that “The introduction of OiTr will not only make university life more comfortable for menstruating students, but also help increase awareness of issues such as period poverty and menstrual taboos, including awareness among students who do not menstruate.”

Period poverty, which is difficulty purchasing sanitary products, has been drawing social interest in recent years. Sophia decided to introduce OiTr on the main campus hoping to reduce the mental, physical, and financial burdens associated with menstruation and assist students to have a comfortable campus life. The introduction of OiTr is also an effort to respond to the following (out of 17 total) SDGs: no poverty, good health and well-being, and gender equality. There are plans to gradually introduce OiTr on the Mejiro Seibo Campus and the Hadano Campus.

OiTr official website: https://www.oitr.jp/