This Program Is Fighting For Improved Menstrual Health Conditions For Incarcerated Women And For Stronger Relationships With Their Daughters

Forbes

2 days ago

The experiences of many incarcerated women in the United States are often minimized and overlooked. This is especially true when it comes to their experiences with issues related to hygiene, menstruation, and their ability to parent while behind bars. Ashlee Turner, founder and CEO of The Pocket Panty , has decided to answer the call to action by organizing and facilitating, Breaking The Cycle, a two-part workshop designed to ensure that incarcerated mothers feel equipped and empowered to have open and informed conversations about menstruation with their daughters entering into late adolescents through TPP's non-profit, The Pocket Panty Project.
On June 7, The Pocket Panty Project hosted the two-part restorative education experience and workshop for women incarcerated at the California Institution for Women (CIW) -- a minimum to medium security facility located in Chino, California. With the launch of this initiative, Turner and her team have one primary goal: to unify incarcerated mothers and their teenage daughters by creating a safe space where the women feel comfortable sharing their experiences surrounding their own menstrual and vaginal health. The first part of the workshop created a space for mothers to reflect on their own experiences with menstruation, build skills for shame-free communication, and better prepare them to support their daughters through similar transitions.
The women were placed into small groups to share their current and past experiences with vaginal health and menstruation, and to also reflect on how those experiences have shaped them as women. They also discussed how to approach talking to their daughters about menstrual and vaginal health during a comprehensive learning session led by Planned Parenthood. Participants were guided through a discussion on potential experiences that their daughters may face and how to engage them in conversations about body literacy and some of the more emotional aspects of menstruation and bodily changes during puberty.
'We wanted to know the things they learned about vaginal health and their own menstrual cycles, the things they didn't know, and what they didn't know when they were teens that they wanted to make sure their daughters knew while navigating this new phase of womanhood, "explains Turner.
To build on the first part of the workshop, The Pocket Panty Project mailed care packages to the daughters of the individuals who attended with goodies such as journals, sanitary pads, pens, nail polish, lip gloss, and body mist. The women were allowed to pick which items to send to their daughters, and they were also able to send care packages to young girls who are not their biological children but play a maternal role in their lives. During the second session, participants will have an opportunity for their daughters to visit them in person to apply what they learned during the first session in a guided conversation with their daughters about puberty, vaginal health, and menstruation.
The Pocket Panty CEO said Breaking the Cycle is a labor of love and is profoundly near and dear to her heart.
'This work is deeply personal to me. When I was a young girl starting my period, I was blessed to have a mother who made the experience feel very special, almost ceremonial. She picked me up from school with flowers, took me to the store, and explained each product to me. We went to lunch and then to the movies. It was a really big deal to her. And although I was embarrassed at the time, I now, as an adult woman, appreciate her for it. It was a special act of care and initiation,' Turner says.
But what caught Turner's attention was an article that she read about an increase in young girls getting their menstrual cycle as early as 9 years old, which caused her to reflect on what happens to the young girls who do not get the same level of care and support that she experienced as a pre-teen.
'Starting your period can feel like a very scary, embarrassing, and even isolating experience. That feeling can be exacerbated if your mom is incarcerated and you don't have a maternal figure to guide you through that experience. I don't want any young girl to experience this alone. That's where I saw fit for us to step in,' explains Turner.
The timing of The Pocket Panty Project's efforts could not have been better. There are approximately 170,000 peopleincarcerated in women's jails and prisons across the country. Most people in women's jails and prisons are below 55 years of age, and for them, those concerns include monthly periods. This means that every month, every time they menstruate, they face an additional layer of humiliation and dehumanization. Recent studies have found that the prison industrial complex system has been used to weaponize menstruation as a form of punishment and oppression toward incarcerated individuals. For example, recent studies suggest that it is not uncommon for incarcerated women not to have access to adequate menstrual products to properly care for themselves while on their cycle – leaving them to feel unclean and less than human.
That said, lawmakers have made some attempts to introduce legislative protections for adequate menstrual care for incarcerated people. In 2017, Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill called the Dignity For Incarcerated Women Act, requiring that federal prisons supply menstrual care products. Two weeks later, the federal prison system announced that it would provide period products free of charge, a change that later became part of the First Step Act.
However, this federal legislation affects only those in federal jails and prisons, who make up less than 10% of the nation's 173,000 women behind bars. Those in state prisons are dependent on state laws. Over 35 states currently lack menstrual care protections, leaving women incarcerated in those state prisons at the mercy of jail and prison staff. In some states, the indifference and the indignities around reproductive health extend from the monthly experience of periods all the way to birth. In Arizona, prisons have induced women into early labor against their will. Between 2005 and 2013, California sterilized over 850 people in women's prisons, frequently without their knowledge or informed consent.
For many individuals, these dehumanizing experiences add to a growing list of concerns they have to navigate while incarcerated, which significantly threatens their dignity and humanity. Taking into consideration their limited access to play an active role in their children's lives only adds insult to injury and contributes to the complexity of their dehumanization. 'The talk' about the birds and the bees and all things puberty is a tale as old as time and a long tradition held by many mothers as their pre-teen daughters begin their menstrual cycles and transition into later adolescence. But for many incarcerated mothers, these conversations are a privilege that they will never have, which has made the experience of creating and implementing Breaking The Cycle even more meaningful for Ashlee Turner. 'I knew the work we were doing was impactful, but hearing the stories from these mothers about their menstrual health journeys solidified how important the work was.'
As activists and lawmakers continue to fight for reproductive rights and overall better conditions for incarcerated women, Turner has dedicated The Pocket Panty Project to be a driving force in these continued efforts. 'Looking ahead, I very much plan to continue this impactful work,' reflects Turner. 'I hope to expand this program across the country because every young girl should have access to education about her body. Every young girl should have clean underwear and menstrual supplies, and every young girl should have the opportunity to have support from her mother, even if her mother is incarcerated.'