Access to basic hygiene is a fundamental right often taken for granted, but for incarcerated women in Ohio, obtaining essential feminine hygiene products like tampons can be a daily struggle. A bipartisan bill making its way through the statehouse seeks to address this issue by ensuring better access to these products.
Within Ohio’s women’s prisons, inmates face challenges in maintaining cleanliness and dignity due to the lack of adequate feminine hygiene supplies. Former inmates Kimberly Jordan and Lilly Brunoni, now advocates with Building Freedom Ohio, shared their experiences of the difficulties they and others encountered while incarcerated, including resorting to bartering for tampons and facing health risks from using makeshift alternatives.
House Bill 29, if passed, would mandate that all state correctional facilities and local jails provide feminine hygiene products such as pads and tampons free of charge to inmates. Additionally, the bill aims to enforce proper sanitary protocols, including ensuring inmates have access to a daily shower.
Representative Latyna Humphrey emphasized the importance of this legislation in demonstrating Ohio’s commitment to humane treatment and basic public health. The bill has garnered bipartisan support, with advocates urging lawmakers to prioritize the well-being and dignity of incarcerated women.
If enacted, Ohio would join a growing number of states that have already implemented similar measures to provide free feminine hygiene products to inmates. The bill’s proponents, including Jordan and Brunoni, hope that it will prevent individuals from facing the dehumanizing choice between maintaining hygiene and enduring humiliation.
Reflecting on their own experiences, Jordan questioned whether past mistakes should define one’s humanity, underscoring the need for compassion and respect for all individuals, regardless of their circumstances. The bill passed unanimously in the House earlier this year and recently underwent its initial hearing in a Senate committee.
Advocates for the bill emphasize that it is not just about hygiene products but about upholding human dignity and promoting public health within correctional facilities. By ensuring that basic necessities are provided without cost, lawmakers aim to improve the quality of life for incarcerated individuals and affirm their inherent worth as human beings.
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