ABC North West Queensland: Kelly Butterworth
)Free sanitary items dispensed from a wall-mounted vending machine in a school are making a difference to teenagers' lives in regional Queensland, with many relying on the products to get them through the weekend.
Rachel Brennan, youth support coordinator at Mt Isa's Spinifex State College junior campus, said the Share the Dignity vending machine was alleviating stress and embarrassment for the school's students.
"We do have a lot of students that actually take some of the products home, so it alleviates a bit of that stress and embarrassment around having to actually go and ask someone for any kind of help."
The vending machine has been in place at the school for about a year and in that time more than 270 of the packs, which contain six tampons and two sanitary pads, have been dispensed.
ABC North West Queensland: Kelly Butterworth
)"Lots of girls use it because they're quick to tell us if it has run out, or if it is broken or something like that, so it has been a really positive response," Ms Brennan said.
"It has been really important for them.
Access a right, not a privilege
Nina Lansbury Hall is a researcher with the University of Queensland who has completed research about Indigenous health and female menstruation.
Dr Hall said initiatives like Share the Dignity were helping teenage girls and young women not only access products, but access information and understanding about what was happening to their body.
"The majority of women and trans men are menstruating once a month for a large proportion of their life.
ABC North West Queensland: Kelly Butterworth
)"They do not necessarily have the products, the waste disposal, the information, the options, to manage their menstruation so they can partake in family life and work life, and sports and social life with, what I could call dignity."
Dr Hall said the strong uptake of the vending machine in Mount Isa showcased how wide the issue could be.
"There's a range of fantastic aspects about those vending machines," she said.
"One is that it is obviously in a location in the school that is discreet enough for the girls to access it without been seen or feeling uncomfortable about it."
Share the Dignity founder Rochelle Courtenay said there were now 205 of the vending machines in Australia, with 51 in schools.
"We believe access to pads and tampons is a right, not a privilege," she said.
