A Period in Custody: Menstruation and the Imprisoned Body

Abstract

This article, based upon pilot work conducted in a closed women's prison in England, explores women prisoners' own experiences and accounts of menstruation and the complex role of situation in determining reactions to menstrual symptoms and to menstrual change. Socialised to see menstruation in negative terms, women prisoners tend to perceive the experience of menstruation in prison as a particularly uncomfortable intrusion into their lives. It is an imposition which cannot, however, be accommodated in private. Negative expectations and experiences of menstruation in prison may influence many women prisoners to focus on its associated unpleasant symptoms. Here, imprisonment may well set up the circumstances in which women come to regard themselves as suffering, which will, in turn, determine whether or not they help-seek. The findings suggest a high level of menstrual distress in women prisoners and a high rate of use of prison health services for menstrual complaints. However, there is also evidence to suggest incongruous referral behaviour, a major cause of which seems to be unease or dissatisfaction with prison health care and, in particular, male doctors.