There are few things as prevalent in society as ignorance. Take the subject of period poverty for example: two years ago, I would’ve had no idea what the term period poverty even meant. While that may sound like a very privileged thing to say (and it is), I had never experienced it or knew anyone who did, and no one was open to discussing it; so I had no clue it was a thing. Of course I knew women all over the world struggled to have access to menstrual products. As the child of two immigrants, I pretty much heard about how hard access to basic necessities (like food) is in other countries on a daily basis; but I ignorantly never thought that the same could be said for the U.S.
However, I was wrong: approximately “two-thirds of low-income women in the US suffer from period poverty” (Mitchel et al.); but how does this affect different communities of women? What about women in prisons? How are they getting menstrual products? Do they have to pay? Do they struggle? I know when I was first introduced to the topic of period poverty within prisons, I felt such guilt because I had not considered the fact that this could be a problem in spite of the fact that it very much is.
Here are the facts: despite having only 5% of the world’s female population, the US has “30% of the world’s incarcerated women population” (Alves and Spears). Of these women, 75% of them are of “reproductive age,” meaning that they most likely menstruate every month. What does this mean? Not only does it mean we have way more women in prison than any other country does in the world, but it also means that all these women are suffering from period poverty due to incarceration. As it stands right now, “incarcerated women receive an allotted number of menstrual products per month” (Alves and Spears). Unfortunately, this allotted number is almost never enough to support their needs. In the state of Oklahoma, it is 5 menstrual products per month. I don’t know about you, but this isn’t even half of the amount of menstrual products that I use in a month. “On average, women use about five liners or twenty tampons per cycle” (Alves and Spears). It is absolutely ridiculous that the state and federal government are not providing the necessary means for these women to simply live. Menstrual products are needed for menstruators, and for the government to ignore the needs of these women by giving them insufficient products is insulting.
So how do these women go on about their lives when they don’t have the means necessary for menstrual products? The obvious answer would be that they go on like that because they have no other choice. Not having access to menstrual products, many women “bleed through their clothes” (Alves and Spears). I know that when I have to change a menstrual product because it is full, I feel extremely uncomfortable. Imagine the conditions that these women have to endure for the simple fact that their government refuses to give them enough products for them to not have to be uncomfortable. I mean the government is quite literally saying that they do not care if women are literally living in a pool of blood or if they’re uncomfortable.
The next question is: can these incarcerated women get more menstrual products in addition to the ones that they already receive? Yes, but it can be humiliating and devaluing for these women oftentimes. Many times, when women speak up about needing more menstrual products, it can be perceived by others as them over exaggerating because very often prisons are run by a male majority. When people in positions of power lack a basic understanding of reproductive biology, that is when menstrual inequity can arise. Because of this, women often find themselves having to prove that they need more menstrual products, and resort to showing them “used menstrual products” (Alves and Spears).
Oftentimes, even after going through the humiliation of having to do this, they are told by officials that in order to receive more menstrual products, they will have to pay for them. Most incarcerated women lack the financial resources to pay for these menstrual products, or come from impoverished backgrounds. On average, a box of tampons costs about $7 and a box of pads costs about $6 in the US (“Period Products: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”). However, the most that a woman in prison can make in even one day is $3.50 (Alves and Spears). This means that an incarcerated woman has to work for days to be able to even afford one box of menstrual products. The fact of the matter is that women need menstrual products as a part of their lives. It is an actual need. A healthcare need, but in prisons it is not treated that way. Instead, it is treated as a privilege that women have to work for despite them not being able to do anything to stop their need for menstrual products. There have even been cases where women have been sexually abused because it was their only way of obtaining menstrual products which they needed, they had to exchange sex for menstrual products (Alves and Spears). Women should not have to do this to obtain something which they need by simply existing. Moreover, there are also many reports of imprisoned women who have been hospitalized as a result of being unable to change their menstrual products because they don’t have any more menstrual products. Not changing menstrual products when they are full or resorting to unsafe menstrual product substitutes can potentially lead to toxic shock syndrome which is a “life-threatening complication of bacterial infections” that includes symptoms like a fever, low blood pressure, muscle aches, seizures, and headaches among other symptoms (“Toxic Shock Syndrome”). Such was the case of Kimberly Haven who suffered toxic shock syndrome after resorting to utilizing homemade menstrual products when she realized she had no access to safe, sanitary menstrual products (Alves and Spears). Unfortunately, she is not the only one who's seen her health deteriorate as a result of not having access to menstrual products, and it continues to affect many women like her across the nation.
Period poverty both inside and outside of prisons is something that simply should not exist not only in our country, but anywhere in the world. We need to speak more about the topic so that the people who don’t know about it are informed and want to change things as well. We need to raise more awareness. Most importantly, we need to get out there and vote and get people in the door in politics who will make this change for us. Women should not have to be humiliated, devalued, sexually abused, or risk their health to obtain a menstrual product, a product which should be theirs by the simple fact that they need it, and it is fundamental healthcare. I encourage you and everyone you know to continue these conversations, spread the knowledge, lessen the ignorance, but most importantly, vote.
Works Cited
Alves, Thais, and Emily Spears. “The Period Project: The Fight for Menstrual Equity in Prisons.” Ms. Magazine, 24 Feb. 2022, https://msmagazine.com/2022/02/24/period-project-menstrual-equity-women-prisons/#:~:text=Inadequate%20and%20inaccessible%20menstrual%20products,and%20humiliate%20themselves%20for%20more.
Michel J, Mettler A, Schönenberger S, Gunz D. Period poverty: why it should be everybody’s business. Journal of Global Health Reports. 2022;6:e2022009. doi:10.29392/001c.3243
“Period Products: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” UT Health Austin , The University of Texas at Austin, 20 Mar. 2019, https://uthealthaustin.org/blog/period-products.
“Toxic Shock Syndrome.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Mar. 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/toxic-shock-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20355384.
댓글