Pads in Prisons: Addressing Gender Disparities in New York State

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HEALTHCARE
Pads in Prisons: Addressing Gender

Disparities in New York State
By Francine Barchett, Roosevelt @ Cornell
Thesis
To fulfill a basic human right, New York State prisons should provide a steady supply of menstrual
hygiene products inside female inmates cells.
Background Analysis
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) fails to
provide its 4,000 incarcerated women with adequate menstrual hygiene products (MHPs). A 2015
Correctional Association of New York (CA) report reveals that 85 percent of female inmates are of
menstrual age yet 54 percent do not receive a sufficient supply of sanitary pads.1 Moreover,
tampons are typically not provided in prisons, even though they are a preferred product of over 40
percent of American women.2
Currently no policy exists for MHP distribution in New York prisons, although New York City is an
exception. In July 2016, the city unanimously passed a law mandating free tampons and pads for
schools, homeless shelters, and prisons.3 They declared that MHPs are a necessity, not a luxury,
since insufficient use may increase reproductive infections and lead to prolonged skin irritation and
toxic shock syndrome.4
The CA study stated that prisons typically delegate 10 pads per month to female inmates, which is
far below the recommended amount of 20 per monthly cycle. 5 6 Furthermore, cycles range in length
and intensity, occurring every 21 to 35 days, lasting from 2 to 7 days, and with intensities varying
from light to heavy.7 Nevertheless, since prisoners weekly wages equate to the price of a 20-pack of
MHPs, few of them have the purchasing ability.8 In order to alleviate these atrocious conditions, it
is essential to formulate policy that regulates MHP distribution.
KEY FACTS
More than 85 percent of New York female prisoners are of menstruating

age, but 54 percent do not receive a sufficient quantity of menstrual
19
hygiene products.
Incarcerated women in New York experience difficulty purchasing
additional MHPs because the average prison wage is 75 cents a day and 72
20 21
percent of the inmates come from lower-income households.
To meet womens menstrual needs, New York prisons would need to
distribute22about
23 24
68,000 MHPs annually, which would cost approximately
$13,000.
COPYRIGHT 2017 BY THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Talking Points
HEALTHCARE
Depriving women of sufficient MHPs increases their risk of reproductive infections, skin
irritation, and toxic shock syndrome, in addition to degrading their personal dignity. 9
New York State should enact a law that requires prisons to supply weekly MHP boxes
inside female inmates cells, as opposed to the New York City law allowing prison
personnel to distribute MHPs upon request. 10
Prisons throughout New York should also provide tampons along with pads to increase
womens sense of agency and provide for their personalized needs.
Policy Idea
Provision of sufficient MHPs to New Yorks incarcerated women should be mandated through state
legislation. Rather than receive MHPs in minimum quantities or upon request, women should be
able to decide how many they need. In addition, state jails should emulate New York Citys idea of
providing tampons alongside pads as opposed to exclusively providing pads. Adding the
commodities to the states soap and toilet paper budget and refilling cells weekly with containers of
pads and tampons will further improve the status of female inmates.
Policy Analysis
A New York State law for the provision of tampons and pads to female prisoners would largely echo
New York Citys recent menstrual policy. 11 Unlike New York City, however, the state policy would
safeguard womens privacy and prevent potential abuse by requiring prison personnel to place
refillable boxes of MHPs in cells.
Besides preserving female dignity, an MHP prison policy would enable women to maintain personal
health in spite of financial challenges. Studies attests that imprisoned females women experience
unusually stressful menstrual cycles, but few can pay the extra wages to purchase MHPs. 12 13 Those
who ask for additional feminine items must apply for a medical permit, which is both time-
consuming and usually unsuccessful. 14 Considering that women are recommended to use four pads
or tampons per day for a five-day monthly cycle, state prisons would need to supply approximately
68,000 MHPs annually for their 3,400 inmates of menstruating age.4 7 Although this may sound
costly, it would only amount to about $13,000 based on the current prices of Walgreens, a top MHP
provider.15 In the long term, having women choose their own MHPs would reduce unnecessary
MHP wastage while preventing more dangerous and expensive cases of toxic shock syndrome. 16
Next Steps
To unite a lobbying effort for menstrual rights in prison, Cornell University organizations
like Womens Resource Center, the F Word, and the Public Service Center should
organize campus petition signing and ask the university president for an endorsement.
At the same time, students should collaborate with state and national organizations like
the Women in Prison Project and Womens Prison Association to spread awareness of
womens menstrual needs on social media and local forums. With enough signatures,
their petition can influence members of the New York State Assembly Committee of
Correction to write a menstrual prison bill.17 The bill should propose that DOCCS
purchase appropriate MHPs for prisoners and establish a system verifying the
effectiveness of employees weekly MHP distributions. Another valuable addition in the
bill-writing process would be New York State Representative Carolyn Maloney, who
formulated a bill for the National Institute of Health to research MHP health effects.18

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End Notes
HEALTHCARE
1
"Inadequate Access: Reforming Reproductive Health Care for Women in New York State
Prisons." Women in Prison Project. 2015. Accessed November 13, 2016.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2778668_code2545112.pdf?abstractid=2778
668&mirid=2.
2
Chalabi, Mona. "How Many Women Don't Use Tampons?" FiveThirtyEight. October 1, 2015.
Accessed November 13, 2016. http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/how-many-women-dont-use-
tampons/.
3
Ruiz-Grossman, Sarah. "NYC Mayor Signs Free Tampons for Schools, Jails, Shelters."
TheHuffingtonPost.com. July 14, 2016. Accessed November 13, 2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-york-city-mayor-bill-de-blasio-signs-tampons-free-
law_us_5787bc57e4b08608d3336b27.
4
Okamoto, Nadya. "Menstrual Hygiene: The Dark Horse of Development." Harvard Political
Review. September 06, 2016. Accessed November 13, 2016.
5
668&mirid=2.
6
Kane, Jessica. "Here's How Much a Woman's Period Will Cost Her Over a Lifetime." The
Huffington Post. May 18, 2015. Accessed November 13, 2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/period-cost-lifetime_n_7258780.html.
7
Menstrual Cycle: Whats Normal, Whats Not. Mayo Clinic. May 11, 2016. Accessed March 15,
2017. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/menstrual-cycle/art-
20047186.
8
Jeltsen, Melissa. "Disturbing Report Finds New York's Female Prisoners Illegally Shackled
During Labor." The Huffington Post. February 12, 2015. Accessed November 13, 2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/12/shackling-new-york_n_6665600.html.
9
10
law_us_5787bc57e4b08608d3336b27.
11
law_us_5787bc57e4b08608d3336b27.
12
668&mirid=2.
13
Scaccia, Annamarya. "Women in Jail Are Being Denied Tampons, Pads, and Basic Human
Dignity." Broadly RSS. March 28, 2016. Accessed November 13, 2016.
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/women-in-jail-are-being-denied-tampons-pads-and-
basic-human-dignity.
14

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HEALTHCARE
668&mirid=2.
15
"Walgreens Online Shopping." Walgreens. November 13, 2016. Accessed November 13,
2016.https://www.walgreens.com/store/store/category/productlist.jsp?N=361325&Eon=361325
&No=24&.
16
17
Annual Report." New York Committee on Correction. 2016. Accessed March 15, 2017.
http://nyassembly.gov/comm/Correct/2016Annual/index.pdf.
18
Dudley, Susan, Salwa Nassar, Emily Hartman, and Sandy Wang. "Tampon Safety." National
Center for Health Research. 2016. Accessed November 13, 2016. http://center4research.org/i-
saw-it-on-the-internet/tampon-safety/.
19
668&mirid=2.
20
668&mirid=2.
21
Jeltsen, Melissa. "Disturbing Report Finds New York's Female Prisoners Illegally Shackled
During Labor." The Huffington Post. February 12, 2015. Accessed November 13, 2016.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/12/shackling-new-york_n_6665600.html.
22
668&mirid=2.
23
668&mirid=2.
24
"Walgreens Online Shopping." Walgreens. November 13, 2016. Accessed November 13,
2016.https://www.walgreens.com/store/store/category/productlist.jsp?N=361325&Eon=361325
&No=24&.

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Pads in Prisons: Addressing Gender

More than 85 percent of New York female prisoners are of menstruating

COPYRIGHT 2017 BY THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT 2017 BY THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT 2017 BY THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

COPYRIGHT 2017 BY THE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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