By: Jennifer Leto
Being left to fend for themselves, women in prison lack not only access to products affecting their physical health, but also suffer in terms of mental health through degradation of their dignity.[1] In an Arizona state prison, access to a 16-count box of tampons is worth 21 hours worth of work.[2] If these women need more, they can work 27 hours for a 20-count box.[3] While women are given 12 free pads a month, they are not allowed to possess more than 24 at a time without permission from a prison guard.[4] There are no free tampons available to women, leaving them the option to work for days just so they can comfortably deal with their period, or being forced to ration their supply of pads for the month.[5] These women are lucky, too. In a Maryland prison, women do not have access to any free feminine products.[6] As a result, women started making tampons out of toilet paper, leaving some to suffer at the hands of toxic shock syndrome and undergoing medical procedures such as hysterectomies.[7]
These products are essential to women’s health and wellbeing. Withholding products such as these is similar to withholding toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper and tissues. Women in prisons who are left to fend for themselves during their menstrual cycle are put at risk for many health problems, such as toxic shock syndrome, fungal infections, urinary tract infections, reproductive tract infections and even infertility. [8]
The lack of access to feminine products in prisons infringes on a woman’s Reproductive Justice.[9] “Reproductive Justice is defined as the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, social and economic well-being of women and girls, based on the full achievement and protection of women’s human rights.”[10] More specifically, many women have come to fear their periods because they are not adequately equipped to deal with them.[11] Many women refuse visitation because they are worried about leaking through their clothes, or fear the inevitable manipulation from prison guards who withhold these products as a means of obtaining and asserting control over the inmates.[12] Such fear and humiliation only serve to make the conversation surrounding periods and feminine health more taboo.
Senator Susan Lee, the state senator in Maryland, described the lack of feminine products as “dehumanizing” and noted that feminine products are not a luxury, but rather a necessity.[13] Her colleague, Nebraska Senator Patty Pansing Brooks, chimed in on a similar note stating that women need proper and adequate feminine hygiene products to avoid health complications, such as infections.[14] This movement goes way beyond comfort and dignity; it is about maintaining the health of the female inmates and upholding basic human rights.[15]
To make positive strides on this issue, many women have started and participated in “Let it Flow,” a movement that advocates for women in prison to have more readily available and easier access to feminine products.[16] Such attention has brought about positive change in the form of legislative action and government awareness. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons guaranteed free menstrual products to women in their facilities.[17] States including, but not limited to, Arizona, Maryland, New York, Alabama, Virginia, and Connecticut have also introduced legislation that mandates free access to tampons and pads in women’s prisons.[18] Additionally, states like Nebraska have created a policy in prisons that provides women with free generic tampons and pads, only charging women for brand name products.[19] While not all of these bills and proposals have passed, the awareness and the steps in the right direction have the ability to make a huge change for the lives of women in prison. Tampons and pads are essential to a woman’s health, sense of self, and overall well-being.
[1]Amir Vera, Female Inmates in Arizona Only Got 12 Free Pads a Month, A Movement Helped Triple That, CNN, (February 14, 2018), https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/14/us/arizona-department-of-corrections-feminine-hygiene-products/index.html
[2]Lydia O’Connor, Federal Prisons Made Menstrual Products Free, Now Some States May Follow Suit, Huffington Post (February 7, 2018), https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/state-prison-free-pads-tampons_us_5a7b427be4b08dfc92ff5231
[3]Id.
[4]Id.
[5]Id.
[6]Brian White, No Tampons in Prison? #MeToo Helps Shine Light on the Issue, Associated Press (March 27, 2018), https://www.apnews.com/6a1805c4e8204e5b84a0c549ff9b7a31
[7]Id.
[8]Pallavi Manoj, 6 Health Risks of Poor Menstrual Hygiene, NUA (2017), https://nuawoman.com/blog/6-health-risks-poor-menstrual-hygiene/
[9]Abigail Durkin, Profitable Menstration: How the Cost of Feminine Hygiene Products is a Battle Against Reproductive Justice, 18 Geo. J. Gender & L. 131 (2017).
[12]Lydia O’Connor, Federal Prisons Made Menstrual Products Free, Now Some States May Follow Suit, Huffington Post (February 7, 2018), https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/state-prison-free-pads-tampons_us_5a7b427be4b08dfc92ff5231
[13]Id.
[14]Id.
[15]Id.
[16]Amir Vera, Female Inmates in Arizona Only Got 12 Free Pads a Month, A Movement Helped Triple That, CNN, (February 14, 2018), https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/14/us/arizona-department-of-corrections-feminine-hygiene-products/index.html
[17]Lydia O’Connor, Federal Prisons Made Menstrual Products Free, Now Some States May Follow Suit, Huffington Post (February 7, 2018), https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/state-prison-free-pads-tampons_us_5a7b427be4b08dfc92ff5231
[18]Brian White, No Tampons in Prison? #MeToo Helps Shine Light on the Issue, Associated Press (March 27, 2018), https://www.apnews.com/6a1805c4e8204e5b84a0c549ff9b7a31
[19]Id.
