The average American woman with a period spends $20 on feminine hygiene products per cycle. This number ranges, but sources say women can spend anywhere from $6,000 to $18,000 on period products across their 40-year reproductive lifespan. For the privileged, this expense may not be that big of a deal, but for some, that monthly $20 can force people to choose between pads and groceries, or cramp medication and making their full rent. These are impossible choices that no one should have to make. Not to mention, most feminine hygiene products are still taxed as luxury items in many US states. As if bleeding every month is some privilege American women opted into by their own choices.
Many low-income and homeless women are known to forgo feminine products entirely due to their expense, using toilet paper or nothing at all. And the lower quality products these women are more likely to have access to are often ineffective and insufficient for fulfilling their needs. But the system hasn’t just failed these women, it has also forgotten and neglected the women who are incarcerated in our country. Women in federal prisons and ICE detention centers are in an even more dire situation in regards to their feminine hygiene. These women are completely dependent on the institutions holding them, and these institutions are failing them at every turn.
A recent federal report published by the Government Accountability Office, which is a nonpartisan arm of Congress, determined that women in federal prisons and ICE detention centers are receiving inadequate or nonexistent access to feminine hygiene products. Women are reporting using mattress stuffing as tampons and toilet paper as pads. And this isn’t simply just inconvenient for these women, it can be dangerous to their health. Lack of proper feminine products can lead to toxic shock syndrome, rashes, and infections. Not to mention the mental strain, embarrassment, and physical discomfort of existing in blood soaked clothing. These institutions are neglecting the women that are in their care, simply because they can, and they must be held accountable.
However, when pushed by the Government Accountability Office to potentially implement changes and standards to what they are required to provide for the women in their facilities, the Department of Homeland Security argued that any adjustment “would create undue burdens on facilities that currently address these types of issues in accordance with local policies.” That’s what taking zero responsibility sounds like.
The fact that these institutions are incapable or simply unwilling to properly provide for the women they are holding pisses me off. And it should piss you off, too. Women (whether they are in jail, undocumented immigrants, low-income…) are entitled to their own dignity surrounding their bodies, even if it may be inconvenient for those in charge.
If the difficulties incarcerated women experience in federal prisons and ICE detention centers are something that resonated with you and you’d like to help or learn more, look into the Prison Flow Project. This nonprofit organization is working to improve access in women’s prisons across the United States.
There are also organizations like I Support the Girls, which works to bring menstrual access, feminine support, and dignity to American women experiencing difficulty, whether that is homelessness, poverty, cancer, domestic violence, and more.
It’s beautiful that these options exist, but it will take real systemic change to make a difference. Speak up, donate if you can, and hold institutions accountable!
I really like how you talked about how it doesn’t just affect women but there’s groups of women that get affected even more and what that looks like for them. Your argument gave great perspective and they should not be considered luxury items!