Menstruation and access to period products in prison

` The large majority of incarcerated women face the monthly challenge of menstruation in prison, in addition to the absence of consistent health services in prison. Since prison is an institution originally constructed for men, it is not equipped for the unique challenges women face in American society. Rules regarding access to menstrual supplies vary between state and federal prisons and are largely inconsistent across states, even though women’s menstrual needs are a reality of their sex assigned at birth rather than being variable based on the state they reside in. Limiting these necessary resources is also another way prison staff can exploit their power over incarcerated women unfairly—yet another avenue for abuse suffered by this population (Broome). Societal stigma around menstruation is compounded with poor treatment by prison staff to create a physically and psychologically miserable environment for an incarcerated woman every menstruation cycle. 

The supplies they do receive, through whatever inconsistent avenues are required by law in a given state, are of the lowest possible quality and often not enough to maintain reasonable hygiene and safety during use (Broome). Additional pads and tampons of higher quality are available for sale at the commissary but this option is out of reach for most women, who can’t afford the cost of the items, often two to three times the price compared to the equivalent product in a normal drugstore (Law and Kauder Nalebuff). These circumstances often force women to take matters into their own hands by forming makeshift pads or tampons out of the low-quality materials they are given, cloth and fabric they have access to, or toilet paper (of which quantities are also limited) (Haven). These options are unsanitary but often necessary options that can lead to serious health complications, either immediately or later in the woman’s life. While some prisons have made efforts to improve access to menstrual products, specifically the First Steps Act providing free period products in all federal prisons, the majority of the female prison population is subject to variable rules at the state level or even individual warden’s decision of whether or not to adhere to state regulations. (“State Laws Around Menstrual Products in Prison.”; Booker and Warren)

The monthly allocation of period products varies across states and sometimes even regions or individual prisons. An incarcerated woman in Texas wrote Time Magazine that each woman received one box of pads and five tampons a month, which is enough for some but not for those with certain conditions or a heavy period (Law and Kauder Nalebuff). Additional products have to be purchased at the commissary, a price which many female prisoners can’t afford. A study referenced by the Equal Justice Initiative found that 65 percent of incarcerated people’s families are unable to meet fundamental needs in their own lives, making their ability to contribute to their imprisoned loved one’s commissary account impossible. (“Half of Americans Have Family Members Who Have Been Incarcerated.”). The wages incarcerated workers earn are not nearly enough to adequately cover the costs of period products—if they are paid at all, which in Texas they are not (Law and Kauder Nalebuff). Not only is this system unfair to low-income women, a majority of the female incarcerated population, it reinforces the burden of period products on women, even though they are a bodily function just like any other, not a choice. This reality should be well-known to prison officials and lawmakers, assuming they are aware of the basic science regarding menstrual cycles and reproduction. Thus the option to purchase more and/or higher-quality period products, do not provide a sufficient solution to the discrepancy between allocation and need for period products. 

Not only are there quantity issues for period products in prison, but quality shortcomings as well. While higher quality/name brand products are available at the commissary, the products distributed for free are less absorbent, meaning they need to be changed more frequently to maintain one’s hygiene and avoid bleeding through onto clothes or other surfaces (Broome). Another reality of prison life is that incarcerated people are constantly subject to invasive processes to maintain the overall safety and security of the prison they’re in, including regular strip searches. Every time a strip search is required, which can be procedural or if an individual is deemed suspicious for any reason. Each time they must remove their pad or tampon as part of the comprehensive search, which can cut short the use of an already scarce product (Haven). 

These realities leave two options available to incarcerated women in need of period supplies: begging prison staff for materials or constructing them with unsterilized materials Haven). Even in states where additional products are available upon request, individual correctional officers responsible for fulfilling this request can leverage their position of power against women desperate for basic supplies. Discretion of prison staff becomes even more influential in the states where extra supplies are not compulsory. The scarcity of period products in prisons makes them a valuable bargaining chip for prison guards, as a bargaining chip they can use in exchange for certain behavior from prisoners, including coerced sex acts (Broome). Kimberly Haven, a formerly incarcerated woman in Maryland shared her experience with menstruation struggles in prison, and the power it gives prison staff who recognize the necessity of these products to prisoners: “They are withheld in order to get certain behavior, and they are doled out in whatever amounts and at the convenience of correctional staff (when they are distributed at all)” (Haven). Furthermore, over 70% of prison staff are men, incarcerated women often have to request period products from individuals who have never experienced the demands of a menstrual cycle and who are more likely to perpetuate period stigma because of their unfamiliarity. 

To avoid poor treatment or manipulation by staff, many women turn to making their own supplies. Haven described women she knew while incarcerated who would use shreds of clothes or material from their cell mattresses for makeshift period supplies so they didn’t have to deal with the humiliation associated with requesting products (Haven). Others use toilet paper, another unsterilized resource which is also in limited supply in prison (Broome). At the lower-risk end, repurposing of provided materials runs the risk of punishment from staff for altering prison-issued belongings. More importantly it poses serious health risks: immediate ones including infection or toxic shock syndrome or long-term ones such as infertility or complications resulting in a hysterectomy, as was Haven’s experience after being released (Haven). Since her release she has shared her experience with the crude and unfit procedures prisons have for menstruating women and has become an advocate for reform in the Maryland state legislature (Haven). 

Menstruation-related distress also affects social dynamics and relationships inside prison. Incarcerated women face shaming from correctional officers when they bleed through a pad or tampon, even though they have no control over it and bathroom use is sometimes restricted. On top of that, women sometimes cancel lawyer and family visits when they are on their period, for combined reasons of appearing unclean due to leaked blood or because they don’t want to remove their pad or tampon to be searched beforehand and have it become contaminated and no longer usable (Broome; Law and Kauder Nalebuff). This breaks down relationships with family, which can be a lifeline and bring all-important hope to people in difficult circumstances. It also presents a barrier to legal representation if an incarcerated person has to choose between feeling dignified and meeting with their lawyer about their case. 

There has been some progress regarding the provision of menstrual supplies in prison, especially in the legislature for federal prison. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker introduced the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act in 2017, which prohibited federal prisons from charging incarcerated people for pads and tampons, among other essential health supplies (Booker and Warren). The bill also contained other agenda items that recognized the unique role women play in society, including bans on solitary confinement for pregnant women and mandating that the Federal Bureau of Prisons consider where the children of a defendant reside when deciding what federal prison to place a woman. Although this step is significant for the population it serves, less than 10% of incarcerated women reside in federal prisons. The majority are housed in state institutions, with inconsistent laws regarding period products. An ACLU report on Menstrual Equity in the US found that thirty-eight states have no law that requires period products be supplied to incarcerated women (“The Unequal Price of Periods”). It is worth repeating that even states with laws dictating cost-free access to menstruation resources, control comes down to the wardens at individual prisons, who may dismiss the needs of incarcerated women for any number of inadequate reasons. This means that even in a state with reasonable product access regulations, incarcerated people still may not receive the products they need to stay healthy and hygienic. 

This is a reflection of our society which sees needs specific to women as an afterthought, and male-dominated leadership often shows little effort to make informed decisions about women’s health. One may point to Sally Ride’s experience as the first American woman in space in 1983, when NASA tried to supply her with 100 tampons for the one week journey (Blakemore). Although the number seems ridiculous to anyone who is at all familiar with menstruation, it reflects the severely out-of-touch perspectives some men have about women’s health. These discrepancies between the reality of women’s menstruation needs and what they’re getting demonstrates both the need for female voices at the tops of organizations, especially ones that address matters unique to the sex, and more effort on the part of men in those spaces so they can serve women too instead of making uninformed decisions about their bodies. 

Works Cited

Blakemore, Erin. “When Sally Ride Took Her First Space Flight, Sexism Was the Norm.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 18 June 2018, www.history.com/articles/sally-ride-first-astronaut-sexism.

Booker, Cory, and Elizabeth Warren. “Booker and Warren: Women in Prison Deserve Dignity.” CNN, 5 Sept. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/09/05/opinions/female-prisoners-dignity-act-booker-warren-opinion/index.html. 

Broome, Avery. “Menstrual Product Deprivation in Prison: A Sex-Neutral Litigation Strategy.” The University of Chicago Legal Forum, The University of Chicago Law School, legal-forum.uchicago.edu/print-archive/menstrual-product-deprivation-prison-sex-neutral-litigation-strategy#footnote4_om26cdq. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025. 

“Half of Americans Have Family Members Who Have Been Incarcerated.” Equal Justice Initiative, 11 Dec. 2018, eji.org/news/half-of-americans-have-family-members-who-have-been-incarcerated/. 

Haven, Kimberly. “Why I’m Fighting for Menstrual Equity in Prison.” American Civil Liberties Union, 18 July 2023, www.aclu.org/news/prisoners-rights/why-im-fighting-for-menstrual-equity-in-prison. 

Law, Victoria, and Rachel Kauder Nalebuff. “How Prisons Use Menstruation as a Form of Punishment.” Time, 29 Mar. 2023, time.com/6265653/prison-menstruation-punishment/.

“Staff Statistics.” BOP Statistics, Federal Bureau of Prisons, www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_staff_gender.jsp. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.

“State Laws Around Menstrual Products in Prison.” The Prison Flow Project, 8 July 2025, theprisonflowproject.com/state-laws-around-access/#:~:text=The%20warden%20or%20director%20of,may%20request%20additional%20free%20products. 

“The Unequal Price of Periods.” American Civil Liberties Union, 6 Nov. 2019, www.aclu.org/publications/unequal-price-periods.