To: The Government

Free Period Products in All Higher-Education Institutions

We are calling on the government to tackle socio-economic and gender inequality on our campuses by providing access to free period products to the students and staff who need it.

Why is this important?

With the exception of a few, higher-level institutions in Ireland do not provide free period products, despite repeated requests from our campus communities. There is a clear demand for these initiatives, from students and staff. The initiative needs to be streamlined and supported on a governmental level. By tackling period dignity head-on, we can directly tackle stigma and shame around periods for students and staff, thus making our campuses more inclusive places for members of our academic community from all backgrounds. Quality of learning and teaching is affected by menstruation - and we do not want anyone to get caught out by not having adequate products in those moments. By ensuring access to free period products, especially as the housing and cost-of-living crises worsen, we can ensure that those from worse-off socioeconomic backgrounds are supported throughout their education.

The government has piloted free period products in certain education boards, but this has not yet extended universally to higher-level institutions. We have heard that there are plans to do so. We, students and staff, call to expedite this process and set down funding to make period products accessible in bathrooms across all higher-level institutions in the country.

Sign the petition

Everyone has mental health, and its quality can fluctuate throughout our lives for a variety of reasons. Mental wellbeing is achieved when our resources match our challenges. Whether you have a diagnosed condition or not, there is always someone here to talk to you. 

Research shows that there is a strong relationship between talking and lower mental distress and higher positive adjustment. Please don’t suffer in silence - let’s start the conversation! My email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is always open for problem solving, venting and advice!

• If your life is in imminent danger please call 999
• you are having suicidal thoughts please call 1800 247 100
• Call Niteline on 1800 793 793 during term time or Samaritans on 01 671 0071 outside of term time for someone to talk to.
• If you prefer to text anonymously use the Crisis Support Line, text HELLO to 50808

Movember

Movember is an annual event often involving the growing of moustaches to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's mental health. Many Trinity students are partaking and running some fun and informative events. Keep an eye on @MovemberTCD on Instagram to keep up to date or find out more. Let's change the face of men's health together.

Student Counselling Service

Student Counselling Services (SCS) aim to help you succeed at Trinity by providing free, confidential and professional support services. These services are available throughout the year  to all registered Trinity students. SCS is staffed by professional accredited counselling or clinical psychologists and psychotherapists, interns, assistant psychologists and trainees.

SCS is situated on the 3rd floor of 7-9 Leinster Street. They offer one-to-one counselling as well as group counselling, online support programmes and workshops.

There is an emergency counselling appointment available each day. To book this appointment email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and the counsellor on duty will call you back.

Find out more:

www.tcd.ie/Student_Counselling
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
01 896 1407

External Supports

Drugs and Alcohol

College is a time of many firsts, drugs and alcohol may be some of them. TCDSU is committed to a Harm Reduction approach, which emphasises engaging directly with students who use drugs to prevent overdose and infectious disease transmission and empower students through information.

Support Services

•  If you, or anyone around you, experienced negative health outcomes after drug use, contact 999 immediately. You can access healthcare services without criminal prosecution.
• The HSE runs a confidential service both as a freephone Helpline (1800 459 459) and an email support service (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) if you are struggling with substance-dependence. The helpline is available Mon-Fri, from 09:30-17:30.
• As a student you can book an appointment about concerns over your drug or alcohol use at Trinity’s College Health Centre. More information can be found on their website www.tcd.ie/collegehealth. You can book an appointment by calling 01 896 1591 or 01 896 1556.
• Alcoholics Anonymous is a free support for if you are recovering from alcoholism. Their phone number is 01 842 0700 and email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.alcoholicsanonymous.ie 
• Narcotics Anonymous is a community-based organisation for recovering addicts, www.na-ireland.org or 01 672 8000.

Information About Drugs

Harm Reduction

It is always safer to not take substances!
If you are to take substances, never mix!

Overdose

• What it looks like: Loss of consciousness, seizure, foaming at the mouth, vomiting, chest pain, difficulty breathing, pale skin
• What to do: Seek medical assistance immediately and place the person into the recovery position. Remove any objects that could cause harm to the person. Check if the person is breathing and use an AED and perform CPR if they are not breathing.

LSD

• Dosage: The usual dose for LSD is between 100-200 micrograms
• Mixing: Do not mix LSD with alcohol (and other depressants such as benzos), or stimulants as this may exacerbate the effects of LSD and cause paranoia
• Drug Quality: It’s hard to estimate the potency of LSD, even with testing kits. LSD may be laced with other substances that testing kits pick up so for this reason, keep your doses low!
• Affects: LSD can cause episodes of paranoia if taken when you’re in a depressed or anxious mood-state
• Harm Reduction: LSD trips last a long time and sometimes effects take time to hit so avoid re-dosing. Only use around people you trust and in a safe environment to avoid a bad trip. Don’t use if you’re feeling low, anxious, worried or depressed as these feelings may be amplified when you start tripping. Sometimes more harmful substances are sold as LSD, follow the phrase “if it’s bitter, it’s a spitter”. LSD is tasteless so if you taste anything bitter or chemically it’s likely not LSD

Cocaine

• Dosage: Start with a small test dose and leave at least 2 hours between use
• Mixing: Never mix with other substances as risks are greatly increased. Avoid mixing with alcohol as these two form a new substance in your body which can make you feel anxious or aggressive
• Affects: Cocaine is a stimulant which causes users to feel wide awake, increased heart rate and body temperature, paranoia, unpredictable behaviour, anxiety, dry mouth
• Harm Reduction: Chop your cocaine finely, alternate nostrils and wash out your nose to reduce damage to your nasal passages and septum. Use a clean snorting tube (preferably not money) to prevent the spread of blood borne viruses.

MDMA/Ecstasy (Molly)

• Dosage: MDMA can take time to affect people so it is always safer to start with a quarter dose, then another quarter after 60 minutes. Leave 2 hours between larger quantities. 125mg and less is the safest, with 60mg as boosters
• Mixing: Avoid mixing MDMA with other substances, especially alcohol, cocaine and depressants
• Affects: MDMA can cause jaw tension, overheating, anxiety, heavy sweating, impaired balance.
• Harm Reduction: MDMA can confuse your body temperature so be sure to stay hydrated by drinking 250-500ml of water per hour. Take breaks from dancing to cool down.

Ketamine

• Dosage: A light dose ranges from 15-30mg with more common doses ranging from 30-75mg. It’s usually snorted but occasionally it’s injected. Avoid doses close to or over 150mg as you risk entering the “K-hole” where you risk becoming unresponsive to outside stimuli and risk uncomforting hallucinations
• Mixing: Avoid depressants like alcohol as they amplify the effects
• Affects: Euphoria, numbness, nausea, confusing, hallucinations,
• Harm Reduction: Only use Ketamine in a safe environment as going into a k-hole in an unsafe space can be a scary and dangerous experience. Stay hydrated throughout the experience to reduce bladder damage, if you notice you need to pee more often, cramps in your abdomen, or blood in your pee, stop using ketamine as these are signs of bladder damage. Consider getting medical attention.

Alcohol

• Dosage: Varies depending on what desired effect you want amongst your body composition. You should not exceed more than 14 units a week on a regular basis
• Mixing: Avoid drinking alcohol with other drugs as it combines dangerously with them
• Affects: Relaxation, emotional volatility, impulsivity, slurred speech, memory loss
• Harm Reduction: Eat a filling meal before drinking and stay hydrated throughout the experience to reduce the risk of a bad hangover. Don’t go drinking alone and have a plan for getting home safely. Alcohol will make you more likely to engage in risky behaviours. Never drive under the influence of alcohol.

Gambling

Gambling can be considered to be a problem in your life when it gets in the way with work, school or other activities, harms your mental health or physical health, creates financial struggles, or causes problems with your friends and family.

If you are affected by addictive behaviours, the Student Counselling Service runs an Addictive Behaviours support group. Other supports:
Extern Problem Gambling

Harm prevention and support

www.problemgambling.ie 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
089 241 5401

Gamblers Anonymous

Recovering from Gambling addiction (free) support
www.gamblersanonymous.ie 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
01 872 1133

Trans Harm Reduction

In partnership with Trans Harm Reduction, the Welfare office supplies free sterile injecting materials with various drawing needles for students who are DIY’ing HRT. Contact the Welfare Officer via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to avail of them.

Sexual Health and Pregnancy Supports

Below you can find some of the resources we recommend if you ever need support during the year. AMLCT/TCDSU is here to help and we can always be contacted. Our welfare officer, can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and you can DM any of our social media pages if you need a quick answer! 

Rain or shine, it's our job to make sure all students feel supported by their Students' Union.

Contraception

Contraception is an important part of having safe sex - it can protect against some STIs and pregnancy when used correctly. There are many ways to have safe sex! Contraception comes in many forms so it’s important to find what works best for you. For an up to date guide on the different options available check on www.sexualwellbeing.ie! A guide on what you need to know about contraception is available here (including in other languages).

Common contraceptives include:

• The pill or mini pill
• Condoms or the female condom
• Diaphragm
• The IUD
• Spermicides
• The Coil
• The patch
• Injectable contraception
• The ring

The HSE provides colleges with free condoms and lubricant for students to avail of. House 6 will always have a stock if you need some!

Free Contraception

Women and people with a uterus aged 17 to 25 can get contraception for free. For more information on what costs are covered and how you can avail of free contraception visit www.sexualwellbeing.ie.   

Emergency Contraception

There are different emergency contraception choices for different situations, depending on when you had your last period and how long it has been since you had unprotected sex or if your contraceptive method has failed. Emergency contraception is more effective the sooner you take it after having unprotected sex.

Ask a pharmacist (chemist) for a private consultation or talk to a doctor or Family Planning Clinic about the best option for you. You can also use this time to discuss regular contraception.

Information on the types of emergency contraception is available here. 

Consent

Consent is where there is free and voluntary agreement to engage in a sexual act with someone else. It is a crime to engage in a sexual act with someone who has not given consent. This law is set out in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, 2017. 

It is important to know that even if you consent to a sexual act, you are absolutely free to change your mind before the act begins or at any time before it ends.

Remember that Consent is FRIES:

• Freely-given
• Retractable
• Informed
• Enthusiastic
• Specific

Freely Given:

Doing something sexual with someone is a decision that should be made without pressure, force, manipulation, or while drunk or high.

Retractable:

Anyone can change their mind about what they want to do, at any time. Even if you’ve done it before or are in the middle of having sex.
Informed:

Be honest. For example, if someone says they’ll use a condom and then they don’t, that’s not consent. If someone has taken a lot of alcohol or drugs, we can’t be sure we have informed consent. 

Enthusiastic:

If someone isn’t excited, or really into it, that’s not consent. 
Specific:

Saying yes to one thing (like going to the bedroom to make out) doesn’t mean they’ve said yes to others (like oral sex). Consent is applies to specific acts on specific occasions.

This is a move away from the traditional ‘no means no’ understanding of consent, and it’s important that we as first responders are familiar with this model too.

Together Consent 

Together Consent is Trinity College Dublin's sexual consent education programme. Founded in 2016, they began facilitating consent workshops that year. They are proud to be at the forefront of Consent Education in Third Level Education in Ireland.

Porn

Information from Student Counselling Services, Trinity College Dublin. 

Porn Use

Porn can be a good think: it can be used as a way to relax, as a coping tool and to blow off steam. It can be stimulating and exciting, as well as enjoyable.

But - too much of a good thing? Excessive use of porn can also have a negative impact. It can lead to spending long periods of time online, irgnoring important tasks, retreating from other interested or finding it hard to relate to another person.

The more porn our brain consumes, the higher the response threshold becomes. What used to be satisfying now doesn’t have the same effect and a higher impact is required for a sexual response.

How Do You Engage with Porn?

Porn is a form of entertainment and it’s imporatnat that we are critical of the entertainment we consume. 

For example, we might watch a movie like ‘The Fast and the Furious’ for entertainment. We might watch it for the fantasy, a bit of fun, to share with others - but we don’t watch it to learn how to drive.

Porn is the exact same. As a form of entertainment, it’s important to be able to critique what you’re viewing and not take it literally. Ask yourself what does it get right? Representation of sexual identities, sexploring sexualitiy, validate sexual interests, ackowledigng human needs. But aso what is it missing? Conversations about consent, communication, unrealistic standards, contraception, enforcing stereotypes?

Questioning porn helps you better enjoy it. Be aware of what you’re watching and normalise talking about it.

What’s Your Porn Use Like?

Using porn is normal. It is a normal human sexual behaviour, but it’s just as important HOW we engage with it. 

Consuming porn responsibly means thinking about what porn means in your life. You engage with it in a way that is consistent with your values. Think about the values and beliefs that you hold around sexuality and sexual behaviours. How does that translate for you with the porn you consume? Ethical porn use is about responsibly and interntionally supporting ethical sexual values (David Ley, Clinical Pschologist).

Two main questions to consider for responsible porn use:

• Am I being responsible about the behaviours I’m normalising myself to?
• Is my porn use disturbing my daily activities or upsetting people I care about?

Concerned about your porn use? Help is availble!

If your porn use is becoming more of a problem than a pleasure - reach out and talk about it.

Find someone you trust and share how you’re feeling with them. It might feel embarrassing or difficult but helpful to have someone who understands in your corner.

You can also find support at Addiction Recovery and Wellbeing Group:

• Every Tuesday 6pm
• Student Counselling Services
• 3rd Floor, 7-9 Leinster Streeth South

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions!

For more information on porn literacy visit: www.bewiser.ie/talk-about-porn

Pregnancy Support

Unplanned pregnancies can produce feelings of shock, and be an isolating experience especially for students. If you find yourself in this situation contact a GP at the Health Centre, the counselling service or the Welfare & Equality Officer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your options in complete confidence. Pregnancy tests are available at all pharmacies. College Health Service also offers pregnancy tests for €10.

Here are some external supports that you may find helpful:

Sexual Harrasment & Assault

College defines sexual harassment as ‘any attempt to coerce an unwilling member of the college into a sexual relationship or to subject such a person to unwanted sexual attention, or to punish a refusal to comply or to create a sexucal intimidatory, hostile or offensive environment’. It includes all forms of harassment from unpleasant remarks to sexual assault.

If you’ve had a non-consensual experience or would like to talk to someone about issues regarding consent you chat with the SU Welfare & Equality Officer (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), the Student Counselling Team (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), Niteline, or the College Health Team (www.tcd..ie/collegehealth). All are highly trained, confidential and non-judgemental sources of support.

The ‘What do I do now’ document gives an overview of what to do regarding disclosures of assault and rape in college. Check bit.ly/SAdisclosuretcd for more information.

Speak Out Tool

Report an incident on the Speak Out tool anonymously here.

Speak Out is an online and anonymous reporting tool for higher education institutions in Ireland.  It provides a platform for Trinity College Dublin students and staff to voluntarily and anonymously report, in a safe and secure way, incidents of bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, discrimination, hate crime, coercive behaviour or control, stalking, assault, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape that you have either experienced or witnessed.  

Speak Out is a national initiative led by the Psychological Counsellors in Higher Education Ireland (PCHEI), funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and supported by the HEA Centre of Excellence for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Reporting anonymously using Speak Out means that you will not be asked for your name or any other personal details about you or another person and the University will not take any specific action or commence any formal complaint process. 

The Speak Out site collects information on your experiences and that information allows us to develop and deliver initiatives aimed at raising awareness of, and taking steps to eliminate, this type of behaviour in the UCC community.  Speak Out also allows the University to direct you to helpful supports and provides information relating to a range of options that can assist you in dealing with incidents of discrimination, bullying, harassment and/or sexual misconduct. 

More information regarding the Speak Out tool can be found here.

Trinity Student Support

https://www.tcd.ie/equality/speak-out/support/student-support/ 

Sexual Health Clinics

You can book a cervical check smear test or attend Sexual Health Clinics through the College Health Centre. They also run mini screens with a nurse, as well as sexual health clinics with a doctor or nurse. 

For more info check the College Health website (https://www.tcd.ie/collegehealth/service/specialised.php) or call them on 01 896 1591 or 01 896 1556.

PrEP Clinic

Excited to announce a PrEP clinic is now open on campus because of the work done by Trinity College Dublin Students' Union/Aontas Mac Léinn Choláiste na Tríonóide.

PrEP can stop HIV from taking hold and spreading throughout your body. When taken correctly, PrEP has been found to be about 99% effective.

Access to PrEP around the world is a major issue, with people in Ireland forced to travel across the country just to get an appointment. This will provide access in our city centre for thousands of men and transgender women who have sex with men.

Anyone who wishes to make an appointment for the PrEP clinic can phone the College Health reception to book on 01 8961591, 01 8961556 and 01 8968555.

Anyone who wishes to avail of PrEP for free, will need to have a PPS number, those without a PPS number can avail of the service free of charge, but will need to buy the medication.