Last year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons issued a memo making access to pads, tampons, and panty liners free of cost for federal female inmates. Problem is, most incarcerated women are in state prisons and local jails. Just 10 percent of female inmates were affected by the federal policy change.
State-level progress has been slow, in part because of lawmakers’—predominantly male lawmakers, it seems—reluctance to address issues surrounding menstruation. In Arizona, a state legislator, Rep. Athena Salman (D-Tempe) is trying to undo that taboo. Recognizing a crisis, she has introduced a bill to ensure the 4,000 women in prison in Arizona receive feminine hygiene products.
[I]ncarcerated women are currently only provided 12 free pads per month and are only allowed to possess 24 pads at a time. They aren’t provided any tampons. To get more pads or tampons, prisoners have to buy them. But buying these products is far from easy. Base pay for prisoners is about $0.15 per hour; local news outlet Arizona Central estimates that to pay for a set of pads, a woman would need to work about 21 hours, and for just one box of tampons, up to 27 hours.
Inmates in other states do not have to pay for tampons. These abstract figures are disturbing; what they mean in practice for inmates subjected to these conditions is shocking.
During the bill’s hearing at the reportedly all-male House Military, Veterans and Regulatory Affairs Committee, several women, Arizona Central reports, including some former inmates, testified about the dismal conditions in Perryville state prison, the only one in Arizona that houses women.
“Bloodstained pants, bartering, and begging for pads and tampons was a regular occurrence,” Adrienne Kitcheyan said of her time there.
Kitcheyan also testified that these rules created a brutal cycle: When they were unable to prevent their uniforms from being stained, women were punished, sometimes by being prevented from purchasing pads and tampons to prevent a recurrence.
The all-male committee was unmoved even by this testimony, and Rep. Salman’s bill only narrowly passed out of committee.
Several men on the committee wondered why they were debating menstruation. According to Arizona Central, Republican Rep. Jay Lawrence, the committee chairman, said, “I’m almost sorry I heard the bill.” He added, “I didn’t expect to hear pads and tampons and the problems of periods.”
Fortunately, the number of states that ensure women have access to feminine hygiene products in prison is set to grow this year, sparked by the Federal Bureau of Prisons memo and increasing attention.
Arizona is not alone in this fight. A handful of other states—including Maryland, Virginia, and Nebraska—have introduced similar legislation or policies in recent weeks. Colorado passed a similar amendment last year.
Of course, mandating free-of-cost feminine hygiene supplies doesn’t solve everything. In New York, for example, women have reported that distribution is inconsistent; a legacy of scarcity, and ongoing supply problems, make pads and tampons valuable bargaining chips. The ultimate goal must be normalizing access to feminine hygiene products as fundamental.
