{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T14:43:37Z","timestamp":1792421017743,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783987200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Correct Health Care"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Period poverty is the lack of access to an affordable and adequate supply of menstrual products. Period poverty pervades carceral facilities, posing an intersectionality between economic disadvantage, wage disparities, and terrible facility conditions. The affordability of period products contributes to period poverty in general populations but is underexamined as a contributing factor within U.S. prisons. To examine the affordability of these products, we conducted a content analysis of commissary listings from 2022 to 2024 for prisons across the Southeastern United states. We reviewed listings from 14 Southeastern U.S. states, a region selected due to limited menstrual equity legislation, poverty levels, and high carceral rates. Statewide commissary listings from official Department of Corrections postings were inductively coded by two independent reviewers to thoroughly categorize the type of product(s) available, listing price, quantity, and associated taxes when provided. Hourly wages within facilities of each state were compared against commissary pricing to estimate labor hours required to afford menstrual products. Results reveal discrepancies within commissary listings, including differences in product types available, wage disparities, and considerable pricing differences across states for comparable products. These findings reveal menstrual inequity driven by exploitative labor structures and inadequate product variability and pricing, underscoring the need for prison policy reform.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/10783458261467276","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T14:35:43Z","timestamp":1784039743000},"page":"339-346","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Priced Out of Dignity: Economic Constraints on Menstrual Access in U.S. Prisons"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"32","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-1406-9016","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Madeeha","family":"Anjum","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA."},{"name":"Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Menstruation and Incarceration Team, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Regan A.","family":"Moss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Menstruation and Incarceration Team, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA."},{"name":"Social, Behavioral, Population Health Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","unstructured":"American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU]. (2022). Captive labor: Exploitation of incarcerated workers. https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/news\/human-rights\/captive-labor-exploitation-of-incarcerated-workers"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","unstructured":"American Civil Liberties Union and Period Equity. (2019). The unequal price of periods: Menstrual equity in the United States. https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/report\/unequal-price-periods"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","unstructured":"Armstead A. (2025). Period Poverty and the Politics of Refusal: Building Menstrual Equity Beyond the State Through Mutual Aid. Master\u2019s thesis. Yale University."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/14624745221118345"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_1","unstructured":"Correctional Officers and Jailers. (2026). Data USA. https:\/\/datausa.io\/profile\/soc\/correctional-officers-and-jailers"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/sgp2.12023"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40617-020-00533-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/jwh.2023.0085"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_1","unstructured":"Eco Dreams. (2019). Autism & cloth pads. https:\/\/eco-dreams.co.uk\/autism-cloth-pads\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_1","unstructured":"Eisen L.-B. (2025). America\u2019s dystopian incarceration system of pay to stay behind bars. Brennan Center for Justice. https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/analysis-opinion\/americas-dystopian-incarceration-system-pay-stay-behind-bars"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_1","unstructured":"Fines and Fees Justice Center. (2025). The staggering cost to collect fees fines and restitution in Washington. https:\/\/finesandfeesjusticecenter.org\/articles\/the-staggering-cost-to-collect-fees-fines-in-washington\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_1","unstructured":"Herring T. (2021). For the poorest people in prison it\u2019s a struggle to access even basic necessities. Prison Policy Initiative. https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/2021\/11\/18\/indigence\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4082\/kjfm.22.0206"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_1","unstructured":"Jacobs L. (2025). Bleeding behind bars: Access (and lack thereof) to menstrual products in prisons. Metriarch\u00ae. https:\/\/www.metriarchok.org\/bleeding-behind-bars\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_1","unstructured":"Jones S. & Datta S. (2022). How people on the autism spec- trum experience and manage their periods. Intimina. https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Intimina-Autism-Report-V1f.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_1","unstructured":"More Than Our Crimes. (2022). Prison commissary: Privilege punishment and price gouging\u2014more than our crimes. https:\/\/morethanourcrimes.org\/voices\/prison-commissary\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/09593535251345158"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_1","unstructured":"Nelson S. (2022). Managing your first period: An autis- tic child\u2019s experience. Modibodi. https:\/\/eu.modibodi.com\/blogs\/teen\/managing-your-first-period-an-autistic-child-s-experience"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_1","first-page":"2541","article-title":"Cycles of punishment: The constitutionality of restricting access to menstrual health products in prisons","volume":"61","author":"O\u2019Shea Carney M","year":"2020","unstructured":"O\u2019Shea Carney M. (2020). Cycles of punishment: The constitutionality of restricting access to menstrual health products in prisons. BCL Rev, 61, 2541.","journal-title":"BCL Rev"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_1","unstructured":"Prison Policy Initiative. (2017). Prison wages: Appendix. https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/reports\/wage_policies.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_1","unstructured":"Sawyer W. & Wagner P. (2025). Mass incarceration: The whole pie 2025. Prison Policy Initiative. https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/reports\/pie2025.html"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_1","unstructured":"Scherer E. (2026). People in ICE detention struggle to access period products despite rules to provide them. The 19th. https:\/\/19thnews.org\/2026\/02\/ice-facilities-federal-prisons-menstrual-products\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_1","unstructured":"Shumate A. (2024). Southern prisons in the U.S.\u2014UAB institute for human rights blog. https:\/\/sites.uab.edu\/humanrights\/2024\/02\/16\/southern-prisons-in-the-u-s\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_1","unstructured":"Steward R. (2018). Autistic people and menstruation. National Autistic Society. https:\/\/www.autism.org.uk\/advice-and-guidance\/professional-practice\/menstruation"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_1","unstructured":"The Appeal. (2024). Locked in priced out: Commissary database. The Appeal. https:\/\/theappeal.org\/commissary-database\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_1","volume-title":"State Laws on Access to Menstrual Products while Incarcerated","author":"Thomas K.","year":"2025","unstructured":"Thomas K., , Moss R., , Vishniac M., , & Shlafer R. J. (2025). State Laws on Access to Menstrual Products while Incarcerated. Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, University of Minnesota."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_1","unstructured":"United States Department of Justice. (2019). [Blinded]."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_1","unstructured":"Vishniac M. & Widra E. (2025). Menstruation as misconduct: How prisons punish people for having their periods. Prison Policy Initiative. https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/2025\/11\/12\/discipline_menstruation\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_1","volume-title":"Unjust punishment: The impact of incarceration on mental health","author":"Warth P","year":"2022","unstructured":"Warth P. (2022). Unjust punishment: The impact of incarceration on mental health. New York State Bar Association."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_1","unstructured":"Weill-Greenberg E. & Corey E. (2024). Locked in priced out: How prison commissary price-gouging preys on the incarcerated. The Appeal. https:\/\/theappeal.org\/locked-in-priced-out-how-much-prison-commissary-prices\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization. (2022). WHO statement on menstrual health and rights. https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/22-06-2022-who-statement-on-menstrual-health-and-rights"}],"container-title":["Journal of Correctional Health Care"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/10783458261467276","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/10783458261467276","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/10783458261467276","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T14:21:14Z","timestamp":1792419674000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/10783458261467276"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/10783458261467276"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/10783458261467276","relation":{},"ISSN":["1078-3458","1940-5200"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1078-3458","type":"print"},{"value":"1940-5200","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]}}}