Police Failing to Provide Tampons/Pads to Women Detainees

[ALunerExplorer]

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.

"Would I want an investigation lasting years looking to blame absolutely anyone other than the person who hurt themselves, potentially losing my livelihood and possibly even going to prison?"

Hahahahahaha you're taking the piss now.

The Met have murdered people, lied to cover it up, lied some more, and then when it's accepted that they did murder someone, no-one gets found guilty.

The idea that they can never be at fault when people are harmed is pretty scary.

@LloydSpinjago your total contempt for women represents the problem being discussed here. Fucking horrific that you deal with vulnerable women on a daily basis.

Such a shame you didn't join up since you have all the answers. Does that frothing behind your keyboard make you feel better with your little digs at strangers across the internet? I honestly feel sorry for you that your life is that empty. I hope you start to feel better soon.

Ok I'm out. It's all a massive patriarchal conspiracy to deny women who have been arrested sanitary products. It's the only explanation.

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?

Let me make this very clear.

If there is a Human Rights issue here, then the police are LEGALLY OBLIGED to make sure there are enough staff. They CAN NOT duck out of this legal obligation by saying they can afford it BECAUSE THIS WOULD BE ILLEGAL.

This means they need to take whatever measures necessary to ensure human rights are maintained.

This might mean that women have to be taken to a more centralised police station where there ARE female people officers. And the police need to do more to recruit enough female officers.

There is no way round this. The point that x service can not afford to treat women with dignity for x reason is repeated thrown around. Its bullshit. Money CAN ALWAYS be found by politicians / managers for issues they are passionate about and value.

Women have a RIGHT to dignity and they are ENTITLED to it.

Again with the contempt. No "frothing" happening here - that only exists in your mind Lloyd.

No one here is suggesting they have all the answers or that solving this is easy. You are simply refusing to accept there's any kind of issue, which is what people here are responding to.

Also, I'd be intrigued to know how paper suits are designed to prevent people from attempting to asphyxiate themselves? But I guess you aren't going to respond now you've had your hissy fit because women won't listen and agree with you.

Lloyd, would you consider it acceptable to have a male prisoner denied access to a toilet and made to sit in his own faeces or urine? If not, why not? And if not, in what way does that situation differ from making a woman sit in her menstrual blood?

Vulnerable people with MH issues should never end up in police custody but their families don't know how to access out of hours services so they call the police instead.

This is an interesting and wholly inaccurate take at least locally.

One of the first things you are given when you encounter MH services is the contact details for the OOH service, because everyone knows how important it is to have that contact. Unfortunatly, because MH doesn't get proportionate funding, there is almost nothing OOH can do to help (there's no beds, and they got rid of psych liaisons in A&E) and so the only "place of safety" available tends to be a police cell.

The police have always been notoriously bad at looking after people with MH difficulties, especially when those people have committed crimes. If this is what this is, then it shows a deep problem within that station with regard to working with vulnerable women. And Lloyd's views about women and those with MH problems are par for the course in the police service sadly, ime.

This happened to me in hospital. I was 19 and my period came on while I was in a ward. A nurse gave me a pad from her own hangbag as they didn't have any on the ward. I didn't have any other clothes to wear and she gave me some nhs pj bottoms to wear. It was a humiliating experience really.

There is no way round this. The point that x service can not afford to treat women with dignity for x reason is repeated thrown around. Its bullshit. Money CAN ALWAYS be found by politicians / managers for issues they are passionate about and value.

Women have a RIGHT to dignity and they are ENTITLED to it.

YY. Not surprised to see this misogynist spouting off again.

The BBC article doesn't state that attached to the letter sent by the ICVA to Amber Rudd was a legal option stating that the conditions were likely to be in breach article 8 of the European convention on human rights, the right to private and family life.

The BBC just says that the police service could be in breach of rights.

The ICVA have already sought a professional legal opinion makes their letter rather more significant and adds strength to their argument.

Why did the BBC neglect to acknowledge this? Its an important part of the story.

www.theguardian.com/law/2018/jan/04/ignoring-womens-needs-in-custody-breaches-their-rights-says-watchdog?CMP=share_btn_tw
Ignoring women’s needs in custody breaches their rights, says watchdog