As I was sitting in pain while mother nature was reminding me once a month that I'm not pregnant, I have all this access to menstrual health such as tampons and medicine specifically for menstrual pain. It reminded me that others aren't so fortunate. I wanted to understand how women, especially in prison must deal with their menstrual health with limited resources.
The discussion of menstrual health is becoming destigmatized, there are campaigns such as ending the tampon tax and talk about your period. The period commercials, starting with BodyForm, are starting to become even more realistic with showing period blood. Tampons, pads, menstrual cups should not be defined as a luxury but a necessity. Condoms aren't taxed but tampons still are while about 334 million women on are experiencing their period at any given moment.
According to the Sentencing Project, there are 1.2 million women under the supervision of the criminal justice system. Most women in prison don't have an adequate amount of funds or people that can provide that to them through commissary as well. Tampons and pads are usually expensive in the commissary.
There are prison jobs, but they are limited and on average you will receive 75 cents a day for working. One pad is about 90 cents. That's more than what a prison worker makes a day. A woman must buy other hygienic products and food that's necessary for their lives in prison.
At times when pads and tampons are available, they are obligated to sustain this one low-quality pad for their whole cycle. Women would be forced to only use that one pad or tampon for most of their cycle and it would just be dirty and soaked. This can also be described by some inmates as a control tactic of having female hygienic products far from reach.
On average, women go through 20 pads or tampons per cycle. With periods comes also wanted to be clean, being able to take showers or change your pads is a basic right. You don't feel worthy at times if you're being withheld those rights.
There is a lack of empathy for what women in prison must go through during their menstrual cycle or just have the supplies of hygienic products. People in power through prison and society deem the acts they committed as punishable that they still don't deserve the basic human rights.
Having access to pads and tampons are necessary for all women and should always be a right. They are in prison serving their time for what they did, so it's not just for Correction officers who are supposed to do their job to deem creating an unhealthy environment. Periods are hard to get through at times, even harder with not the appropriate supplies accessible.
Change in prison mandates and how prison guards treat prisoners can create a shift. Woman are advocating for their own health changes in prison. Shows like Orange Is The New Black has even discussed this issue on the show.
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