The government is pushing a plan to provide menstrual pads to every woman who needs them.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family reported a plan to expand free provision of menstrual products at a Cabinet meeting on the 10th. The ministry plans to launch a pilot program, "Public Menstrual Pad Dream," to provide free menstrual pads to every woman who needs them, regardless of income.
The ministry will install free vending machines at community service centers, welfare centers, libraries, public health centers, youth startup centers, and manufacturing industrial complexes to directly provide menstrual pads. Pilot regions will be selected by considering population size, industrial conditions, and living patterns.
This year, 3 billion won in national funds will be provided for the pilot program. Starting next year, the main program will be promoted with a local matching fund format. The existing program that provides vouchers so vulnerable adolescents ages 9–24 can purchase about 14,000 won worth of menstrual products per month will continue.
The ministry also announced measures to strengthen support for stalking and dating violence victims that day. The central and local governments plan to support the deletion of victims' personal information and photos that have been distributed or posted online due to online stalking.
In addition, it will conduct monitoring once every two months for high-risk victims. It also plans to support legislation to amend the "Stalking Prevention Act" to include dating violence victims as eligible for support.
The ministry will also push career development and job retention policies tailored to each life stage to raise women's employment rates. While efforts currently focus on reemployment support, the direction is to strengthen preventive functions to stop career breaks.
Notably, it will provide early career planning for young women, case management to continue careers for those in their 30s and 40s, and community job linkage programs for women 50 and older. It also plans to offer new-technology education for women and region-specific vocational training tailored to local industries.