Incarceration, Menstruation and COVID-19: Exacerbated inequalities and health disparities in South African Correctional Facilities.

Abstract

Purpose - The menstrual health and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) of incarcerated women remains relatively low on the agenda of public health interventions globally, widening the inequitable access of incarcerated women to safe and readily available menstrual health products (MHP). The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted on the MHM gains made in various development sectors in the global North and South, through its amplification of vulnerability for already at-risk populations. This is especially significant to developing countries such as South Africa where the incarcerated female population are an often-forgotten minority. Design/methodology/approach - This Viewpoint highlights the ignominious silence of research and policy attention within the South African carceral context in addressing MHM. The ethical and political implications of such silences are unpacked by reviewing international and local literature that confront issues of inequality and equitable access to MHP and MHM resources within incarcerated contexts. Findings - Structural inequalities in various contexts around the world have exacerbated COVID�19 and MHM. Within the prison context in South Africa, women face multiple layers of discrimination and punishment that draw attention to the historical discourses of correctional facilities as a site of surveillance and discipline. Originality - It is hoped that the gaps in literature and nodes for social and human rights activism highlighted within this Viewpoint establish the need for further participatory research, human rights advocacy, and informed civic engagement to ensure the voices of these women, and their basic human rights are upheld