Wednesday the 16th of October, 2024
Victorian Legislative Council
On the 16th of October, Rachel Payne MP presented her adjournment matter to the Minister for Health in the Legislative Council.
Rachel highlighted the need for sanitary disposal in all public bathrooms for those who experience incontinence and/or menstruation, noting that equal access to sanitary disposal promotes increased community participation.
Current legislation requires sanitary bins to be placed in all women’s bathrooms, while those who use men’s bathrooms are often left with no safe, discreet disposal option for incontinence and menstrual products.
RACHEL PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan): My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health. Sanitary bins allow for the safe disposal of personal hygiene products. This can include things like period products or incontinence aids. They clearly have an important role, and yet in half of the bathrooms they usually do not exist: men’s bathrooms. Those who use men’s bathrooms instead flush their waste down the toilet, creating blockages, or throw their waste in rubbish bins, creating a health hazard. Some may just go without or opt to use disabled bathrooms, which just limits access for those who need accessibility.
There are a number of reasons that those who use men’s bathrooms may need to use sanitary bins. Those with medical needs like stomas and incontinence may use incontinence pads and pull-up pants. The BINS4Blokes campaign represents 1.3 million boys and men who experience incontinence. They advocate for sanitary disposal bins in men’s toilets to allow men living with incontinence to get out in their community with confidence. And of course sanitary bins are an essential part of menstrual hygiene. Not everyone who menstruates is a woman, and it is important that all bathrooms have sanitary bins so anyone who menstruates, no matter their gender identity, has access to a sanitary method to dispose.
To a degree, the location of sanitary bins and how disposal occurs is a discretionary exercise, but there are minimum requirements enshrined in legislation, including a national construction code. This states:
Adequate means of disposal of sanitary products must be provided in sanitary facilities for use by females.
I strongly encourage the federal government to consider updating this code and those responsible for providing toilet facilities to place sanitary disposal bins in all bathrooms they provide.
I would like to give a shout-out here to the councils that have been proactive in making change. The City of Melbourne has already put sanitary bins in several men’s bathrooms in council-owned facilities. Melbourne Airport has sanitary bins in the gender-neutral toilets.
It is time for the Victorian government to lead by example and install sanitary bins in men’s bathrooms. By doing so we send a message that those who use men’s bathrooms deserve equal access to sanitation services.
So I ask: will the minister ensure those who use men’s bathrooms in Victoria are afforded dignity and respect when using public bathrooms by requiring the installation of sanitary bins in men’s public toilets?
