Police Failing to Provide Tampons/Pads to Women Detainees

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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42556384

"One woman, it says, had her clothes removed and was dressed in a paper suit.

Despite her having her period, her underwear had been removed and she was refused any sanitary protection.

"She was left in a state of vulnerability sufficient to cause concern for her wellbeing, bleeding in a paper suit, alone in a cell," the ICVA said.

Sherry Ralph, the organisation's chief operating officer, said that custody suites "typically only have one absorbency of tampon and towel available".

"One senior officer described the packs that they have to buy as 'woeful'," she added"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42556384

I wish I could say I was surprised by this. Period poverty is systemic under austerity, and it is the very women most burdened by that who will suffer most from this.

The more I think about the whole issue of period poverty the more I think sanitary protection should be provided free, the way contraceptives are.

And I am normally a small state individual.

Would that be classed as a form of torture? Would they leave someone with incontinence to sit in their own waste? If that's not acceptable, why is this?

Surely they supply toilet paper? Why not have a box of products available in the toilet area? How bloody hard would that be FFS!!

Its a human rights act violation. A clear one in my opinion.

Article 3
Prohibition of torture
No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

It is regarded as degrading to be left in soiled sheets or clothing if you are under the care of a health care institution.

Same applies to if you are under the care of police or prison services.

I do not see how you could possibly argue to the contrary. What defence could possibly be used?

Yup - they absolutely should be free. I mean I'm happy to sign a petition to end 'tampon tax', but surely the focus should be making all sanitary products free?

And yes, given that production is a massive private enterprise involving huge international business', that might seem a little ambitious, but even if they removed the tampon tax, women would still struggle to afford decent products.

There isn't a defence.

But neither is there the political will to do anything about it: police services are generally being cut, removed and downsized and this is something that will cost 'too much' money to resolve.

Quite why nobody in government has had the wit to work with companies that produce products in order to try to resolve this, I don't know. Lack of giving a damn, I would imagine

Political will is down to political pressure.

Money is always found if, politicians think its a vote loser.

It says much about the lack of involvement of women in the higher ranks of institutions and politics.

And thats the argument to make a fuss about.

Exactly. If women had always been in power this would be a no brainer. But as it doesn't affect men nothing gets done.

It’s same in hospitals though. I’ve been admitted twice in emergency and stress caused me start early so nothing with me. Both times no ward had anything to give me, one did produce incontience pad. In the morning in Wheelchair and drip stand had to search hospital for cash point and shop to buy pads and tampons. Of course you should bring own preference if you can but how can hospitals say we don’t have anything to cover a biologicxal need.
If you bleed in hospital after Op it nose bleed we will offer you resources. What you bleed every month for a week, sorry we don’t have anything!

Sherry Ralph, the organisation's chief operating officer, said that custody suites "typically only have one absorbency of tampon and towel available"

We'll it's a custody block, not a shop. What exactly is she expecting?

"One woman, it says, had her clothes removed and was dressed in a paper suit. Despite her having her period, her underwear had been removed and she was refused any sanitary protection

With very good reason I'd imagine. Every single event and interaction is recorded on the custody log, and the rationale for the decision made. If she was that much of a self harm/suicide risk it's fairly obvious why she wasn't provided with this.

WTF Lloyd?? So because she was a suicide risk, it was acceptable to just let her bleed everywhere and sit in her own mess?

Ok Lecroissant. What would you do?

How does one commit suicide with a tampon, exactly?

I don't think if I felt so bad that I'd be a self harm or suicide risk, that I'd feel less so would by feeling utterly humiliated.

What happens when women are sectioned? Are there better facilities for them then? (Think I know the answer to this, hoping I'm wrong).

Give her a tampon? Give her a pair of knickers and a pad and supervise her (if she's that much of a risk, surely she had to be supervised anyway?)

• rénove the "would"!

It doesn't make sense whichever way you look at it, as surely the police don't want their cells with blood on them, and risk of contracting something as the woman has blood all over the place.

Lloyd your idea that because they have decided to take all a woman's clothes and dress her in a paper suit, that a sanitary towel will be somehow risky or dangerous in her hands is the weakest idea I have ever heard. What's she going to do, throw it at them?

Don't you think having her bleeding freely represents a bigger risk all around, both to her from a psychological POV and to them from potentially unsafe blood.

Some people will make any and all excuses for the authorities, pretty much whatever they do, it's this that leads to unaccountability when much much worse things happen.

How does one commit suicide with a tampon, exactly?

I've seen people attempt it with the plastic vending machine cups (rip them, they can be quite sharp) so they were changed to polystyrene. Certain individuals then started trying to swallow them whole. Anything and everything can be used to attempt suicide.

Give her a pair of knickers and a pad and supervise her (if she's that much of a risk, surely she had to be supervised anyway?)

Great call. I work in a large sized town which now has an average of 5 officers on. Where are you finding the 2 female officers for the cell watch for the x amount of hours she is in custody?

These are the sort of people who come up with all sorts of cock and bull stories and swallow whatever the people in power tell them when atrocities are committed.

Honestly the idea that OF COURSE 100% the authorities were totally right in denying this woman any sanitary protection, there is no way whatsoever that it can have been anything other than absolutely the right thing to do, this blind "they can do no wrong" attitude is really scary.

You see it time and time again when the police get accused of stuff and then when it turns out that yes they did murder the guy it's all oh well they're stressed and somehow still manage to victim blame.

Holding the authorities to account is incredibly important unless you want a police state.

"I've seen people attempt it with the plastic vending machine cups (rip them, they can be quite sharp) so they were changed to polystyrene. Certain individuals then started trying to swallow them whole. Anything and everything can be used to attempt suicide. "

But it isn't a sharp plastic cup, it's a cotton wool wodge with some stick on it.

And if they can use anything then why is she allowed a paper suit? Paper wadded up and a sanitary towel are not very different. Unless you think the strip of adhesive has magical killing properties.

"I work in a large sized town which now has an average of 5 officers on."

Ah - you're a police officer?

Lloyd are suicidal prisoners also denied toilet roll?

Lloyd your idea that because they have decided to take all a woman's clothes and dress her in a paper suit, that a sanitary towel will be somehow risky or dangerous in her hands is the weakest idea I have ever heard. What's she going to do, throw it at them?

No she could try and ingest it. She could take the elastic from her underwear and try and create a ligature. The tampons she could use to try and block an airway.

How many other ideas have you heard in your role in HMPS/POLICE/Secure settings for this to be the weakest idea you've ever heard? I mean from your obvious years and years of experience for being accountable for other persons actions?

I really don't know why you think that risk of suicide has anything to do with this.

Or why someone in a police custody should be treated little better than an animal.

Would you, by that logic, refuse sanitary items for women in prison?

Oh. My word.

So Lloyd - please by what experience, profession or training do you possess this idea?

Do you have any experience working with vulnerable women?

Lloyd - this is a genuine question - is there no concern at all about blood with potential pathogens being spread around a cell?