The reduction of import and sales duties (VAT) on menstrual products in Montenegro, from 21 to seven percent, is only a symbolic step and is not enough to solve the problem of menstrual poverty. The price of menstrual products is still too high, and the only solution is to make them completely free.
This is how the interlocutors of "Vijesti" comment on this gender problem, which concerns more than half of the population of Montenegro, since, according to the 2023 census, women make up 50,8 percent of the population.
Menstrual poverty represents the inability of girls and women to afford menstrual products, such as pads, tampons, menstrual cups... This category includes not only hygiene products, but also medications for menstrual pain and cycle regulation, as well as medical examinations and interventions related to women's reproductive health.
While some women cannot afford these products, others are forced to save on them, or make financial compromises.
Aida Perovic, executive director of the NGO "Prima", which, among other things, works with young women and girls, appreciates the Ministry of Finance's decision to reduce taxes, which she says shows understanding of the situation, but notes that this measure is not enough.
"The price of menstrual products is still too high. These products are not a luxury or a privilege, they are a basic necessity for half of the population of Montenegro. The tax reduction measure is absolutely not enough to solve the problem of menstrual poverty," says Perović.
The ideal solution, she says, would be for sanitary pads to be free for everyone, as in Scotland. Options that would contribute to this include, she says, completely exempting these products from VAT, providing public toilets with menstrual products, or fixing prices so that inflation has no effect on them.
That reducing the VAT rate on menstrual products is an important but insufficient step in addressing menstrual poverty, thoughts and Maša Elezović, a women's rights activist and a master's degree holder in gender studies. The effects of this measure are limited in practice, she argues, because due to inflation and rising import costs, the retail price of these products remains high.
NEGLIGIBLE COSTS - SIGNIFICANT EFFECT
In an ideal model, says Elezović, the state would take a more active role - not only through tax breaks, but also through direct public procurement and distribution of menstrual products. This means that the state or public institutions (Ministry of Health, Education or local governments) would import the products themselves, exempt from VAT and intermediary margins, and distribute them free of charge through schools, colleges, hospitals, social centers and other public institutions.
This, she says, would enable lower purchase prices, cost transparency, and direct availability of products to girls and women who need them most.
"Montenegro can do this immediately, by amending the existing Decision on Temporary Measures for Limiting Product Prices and adopting a special regulation on the implementation of the menstrual health program. It would clearly stipulate that procurement for free distribution in public educational and health institutions is exempt from VAT. This way, budget funds would be fully directed to procurement, without additional fiscal burdens," said Elezović.
Reducing VAT on imports has a limited effect, because VAT is calculated on the total value of goods and transport costs, he notes, and the importer then adds his own margin and distribution costs.
As a result, the final retail price is reduced only slightly, often by five or 10 percent, which, she believes, is not enough to make products affordable for women in poverty. The combination of reduced VAT and restrictions on trade margins can stabilize prices in the short term, but this is also a temporary solution, because as soon as the restrictions are lifted, the market reacts with new price increases.
"In the long run, it is more efficient for the state to directly ensure access to menstrual products through the public health and education system. Such programs, such as the Scottish one, show that the cost per capita is less than one euro per year, which is negligible compared to the social and health effect achieved," the interviewee emphasizes.
Although distributing free menstrual products may seem like a big budget drain, Elezović notes, there are creative solutions that don't burden the state. She cites the example of Japan, where users download a free app and then in public restrooms can hold their phone up to a device that dispenses them a free pad.
The costs of cartridges and maintenance are covered by the companies, she says, because the devices have screens that display silent advertisements while the cartridge is being dispensed. This way, the private sector is involved in socially responsible programs, while at the same time gaining the opportunity for targeted advertising in public spaces.
However, she reminds us that free menstrual products in public institutions do not cover all needs, especially for the most vulnerable women who are not in the education system, do not have access to health facilities or live in rural areas. Therefore, the state needs to develop targeted support models, such as vouchers or cards for menstrual products, which would be allocated through the social protection system.
Reducing VAT is only a symbolic step towards recognizing menstrual products as a basic need, but a comprehensive menstrual justice policy must also include public procurement, VAT exemption for government programs, margin control, the development of innovative financing models, and targeted social measures. Only such an approach can ensure that menstrual health becomes a matter of right, not privilege, in the long term.
CULTURAL RENUNCTION
In taking care of their family and themselves, girls and women are very quick to give up menstrual products and gynecological examinations. Culturally, they are taught that women give up things for the benefit of others, and this culture has unfortunately spilled over into this aspect. This is what Aida Perović says and explains that, therefore, with the increase in the prices of everything, one of the first things that will “fall away” is menstrual products and care for reproductive health. Saving on menstrual products can cause serious health problems, she warns, toxic shock syndrome if the product is not changed often enough (to save money), and the plastic and perfumes that are very common in cheaper menstrual products also harm the reproductive, but also the general health of girls, young women and women.
"The most important point - which we all need to remember when it comes to this topic - is that menstrual products are not a luxury or privilege, but a basic necessity, and every decision related to menstrual products and reproductive health should be based on that fact," Perović points out.
There were examples in the region where schools purchased menstrual products and distributed them to students for free, she notes, but for that purpose, the student had to go to a psychologist or pedagogue and ask for the product, which is also not the best solution, because they faced shame.
The shame did not stem only from the fact that the student was menstruating, but also from the fact that she acknowledged the poor financial status of herself and her family, says Perović, and considering that these were girls in puberty, she believes it is clear how difficult it is to survive among peers who base part of their mutual violence precisely on discrimination against the poorer ones.
"This practice also did not go down well because some students took them and threw them unused in the trash or in the yard - as far as I know, these were boys. This indicates that we need to raise the level of awareness in society regarding how important women's health is and that this area must not be a training ground for misogyny," emphasizes the interviewee of "Vijesti".
Montenegro can do this immediately, by amending the existing Decision on Temporary Measures for Limiting Product Prices and adopting a special regulation on the implementation of the menstrual health program. It would clearly stipulate that purchases for free distribution in public educational and health institutions are exempt from VAT. This would allow budget funds to be fully directed to purchases, without additional fiscal burdens, says Elezović
HEALTH IS NOT AN EXPENSE, BUT AN INVESTMENT
Perović also notes that women's reproductive health care is becoming increasingly expensive. Gynecological examinations, interventions and medications should be available and affordable to everyone. It is common knowledge, she says, that in public healthcare, there are long waits for even basic examinations, and even longer if further treatment or intervention is needed.
Private healthcare services have also become more expensive, she adds, and are therefore less accessible to the majority of Montenegrin residents - in public gynecological clinics, it was not possible to get an examination with an intravaginal probe, which allows for good diagnostics.
"When this is taken into account and put into the context of the fact that almost every third oncology patient in the country suffers from breast cancer, and that the incidence of reproductive organ cancer is also worrying, it clearly indicates a problem in the entire system. Therefore, none of these things should be a privilege, nor should it be a punishment, through inadequate treatment of patients when they come for an examination," Perović emphasizes.
Access to reproductive health is not a marginal topic, Elezović argues, it is one of the pillars of public health. A society that takes the health of its citizens seriously must understand that one cannot talk about public health without accessible, safe and dignified reproductive health services, she says.
Montenegro, in her opinion, like most countries in the region, continues to approach health policies selectively rather than holistically, focusing on short-term measures instead of building a system that understands the interconnectedness of prevention, education, accessibility, and dignity.
"In order for us as a society to spend less on treatment, we must invest more in prevention. This means that women and men must have regular and free check-ups, accessible medications, contraception, vaccines and information about their health. One of the most important examples of preventive measures is the HPV vaccine, which protects against the human papillomavirus - the most common cause of cervical cancer, but also certain forms of cancer of the anus, penis, oral cavity and throat," says Elezović.
He also notes that research shows that the HPV vaccine prevents more than 90 percent of cervical cancer cases, a disease that claims the lives of thousands of women worldwide every year, and is completely preventable. Investing in vaccination and regular check-ups, he says, means we are saving lives before the disease even occurs.
"Health should not be seen as an expense, but as an investment, because healthy people create, contribute and build a community," Elezović stated, adding that if we really want to increase the birth rate, then we must start from the basics - ensuring that women and men are healthy, that they can start a family if they want to, that they feel respected in maternity wards and at check-ups, that they are trusted and that the healthcare system sees them as people, not numbers.
This is not achieved through administrative incentives or one-off measures, he concludes, but through the long-term building of a culture of care, respect and solidarity.
This must become a mission of society, she is certain - and not just another policy. The state is not an all-powerful hand that occasionally hands out a bag of treasures, as she puts it, but a service to citizens, managing the resources that we all create together.
"The budget is filled with our work and should serve to create conditions in which we can all live healthier, safer and more dignified lives. The main problem is that Montenegro still lacks a vision of a healthy society, a society that understands that public health does not only mean hospitals and medicines, but also a culture of care, prevention, a healthy environment, accessibility and mutual trust," Elezović told "Vijesti".
Such a society, she believes, is built on the idea that we take care of each other, that we use resources thoughtfully and gratefully, aware that we have not only inherited them from our ancestors, but also borrow them from generations to come.
IT IS NOT “PROFIT WAIVER”, BUT MONTHLY BLEEDING
The Ministry of Finance in 2022, which was then headed by Aleksandar Damjanović, the parliamentary Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget did not support the Liberal Party's proposal to reduce the VAT rate because, as that government department claimed, a list of menstrual products had not been defined, and they also believed that a lower VAT rate would not lead to a lower retail price.
From that ministry, which is now headed by Novica Vuković, said this May that the state, in this context, has given up part of the profits.
Such a statement - that the state has "given up profits", Elezović assesses, sounds as if Montenegro is the private property of a group of men who have generously given up part of their personal income for the benefit of women.
"I would remind those who make such statements that patriarchy is long out of fashion, and that women are not a minority being granted mercy, but more than half of the population and more than half of the electorate. And that many of these bodies bleed every month, and that they should be careful how they treat us," she pointed out.
If equality and access to basic hygiene and health products are perceived as "renouncing profit," she believes, then the problem is much deeper than fiscal policy - then we have not yet understood that the budget is not the state's private capital, but a common fund of citizens that should serve everyone.
These products are not a luxury or privilege, they are basic necessities for half of the population of Montenegro. The tax reduction measure is absolutely not enough to solve the problem of menstrual poverty, points out Aida Perović
Most people think pads and tampons are expensive.
All 27 women and girls with whom "Vijesti" spoke about this topic said that pads and tampons are expensive compared to the standard of living in the country. This was also assessed by 80 percent of the total respondents of the non-governmental organization CAZAS, which conducted such a survey in 2022 with 1.134 women.
"Now that I'm working and don't have a family, I generally have no problem setting aside money for all of that. Although, I remember the period in high school when, since we were four sisters, we had to save and distribute the diapers, in relation to the period in the month, because, for one parent's salary, it was a significant expense, especially in addition to food, school supplies...", she told a list of interlocutors from Bar.
Four of the 27 women and girls with whom "Vijesti" spoke admitted that, during the "difficult months", they were forced to borrow sanitary napkins from their school friends, because they did not want to burden their parents with these expenses. Three of them reported similar behavior during college - when the living budget was scarce, so they borrowed products from roommates or friends, which they would "return" when they received money from their parents or a salary.
The price of a pack of menstrual pads now averages from 1,80 euros (for packs of less than 10 pieces) to more than three euros (for packs of up to 16 pieces). A pack of tampons costs around three to four euros.
Depending on the dynamics and volume of the cycle, women need one to four such packs per month.
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