On Aug. 1, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) sent a memo announcing the mandatory provision of menstrual hygiene products at no cost to inmates. Although hygiene products were previously provided in federal prisons, the recent BOP memo expands the variety and sizes of these items. Panty liners, pads and tampons will be distributed by wardens but institutions will purchase the products in accordance with National Acquisitions guidance. The program objective is to ensure that “female inmates have access to a range of feminine hygiene products related to menstruation.”
This directive, announced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), is a revised policy aimed for inmates and their long term benefits. Rep. Meng says “The move will be a huge boost in our efforts to make tampons, pads, liners and other feminine hygiene products more accessible to women, and it will help restore dignity and proper hygiene practices to the many inmates who found these items out of reach.” Despite the overdue announcement, she looks forward to its implementation.
Approximately one month before the BOP’s memo, a bill entitled the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act was introduced by Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren. This bill would guarantee access to pads, tampons, alongside more reforms including specific protections for pregnant women and those with families. With the mandatory policy now in place, Senator Booker still wants to focus on treatment reforms as seen in the Dignity Act. In conversation with Refinery29, he said “I’m encouraged that the Bureau of Prisons is finally explicitly requiring these healthcare products be provided free of charge to incarcerated women at all BOP facilities. But a policy memo is just words on a piece of paper unless it’s properly enforced.”
In a press conference about the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, Senator Booker also addressed the balance between accountability and our own humanity. For a prison to function, it must have both.
With more than 12,000 incarcerated women in federal prisons, this memo has the power to improve the treatment of inmates across the nation. But basic acts of humanity like this should not be seen as brave. Previous efforts to provide menstrual hygiene products have faced systematic flaws and it is time to dismantle the shame, inequality, and disgust surrounding periods. Enforcing policies and introducing bills that work in favor of human dignity are the first steps to creating major change, and I have no doubt there will be more to come in the future.
