Expanding Health Equity in Wisconsin Prisons and Jails through Access to Menstrual Products
27 Sep 2021-Vol. 18, Iss: 04
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors advocate that the Wisconsin State Legislature pass similar legislation that requires prisons and jails to provide free menstrual products to incarcerated Wisconsinites, particularly women from marginalized communities.
Abstract: The population of incarcerated people who menstruate in the Wisconsin correctional system has increased significantly over the last decade. Though necessary for the health and wellbeing of these individuals, menstrual products are not guaranteed at a reasonable cost throughout the Wisconsin correctional system, making them inaccessible, particularly to individuals from marginalized communities. The current system causes extreme physical and mental health problems, as many incarcerated individuals may go without these necessary products or attempt to make their own. Thirteen states have enacted legislation to provide menstrual products at no cost to citizens in prisons and jails. We advise that the Wisconsin State Legislature pass similar legislation that requires prisons and jails to provide free menstrual products to incarcerated Wisconsinites.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide empirical evidence of the inequality in menstrual hygiene management in Kinshasa (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rajasthan (India), Indonesia, Nigeria and Uganda using concentration indices and decomposition methods.
Abstract: Menstrual hygiene management and health is increasingly gaining policy importance in a bid to promote dignity, gender equality and reproductive health. Effective and adequate menstrual hygiene management requires women and girls to have access to their menstrual health materials and products of choice, but also extends into having private, clean and safe spaces for using these materials. The paper provides empirical evidence of the inequality in menstrual hygiene management in Kinshasa (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rajasthan (India), Indonesia, Nigeria and Uganda using concentration indices and decomposition methods. There is consistent evidence of wealth-related inequality in the conditions of menstrual hygiene management spaces as well as access to sanitary pads across all countries. Wealth, education, the rural-urban divide and infrastructural limitations of the household are major contributors to these inequalities. While wealth is identified as one of the key drivers of unequal access to menstrual hygiene management, other socio-economic, environmental and household factors require urgent policy attention. This specifically includes the lack of safe MHM spaces which threaten the health and dignity of women and girls.
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