Publications and Citations
Publications
- Vishniac, M. (2025) ‘Access to Menstrual Products in U.S. State and Federal Women’s Prisons: A National Review of Official Rules’, Women’s Reproductive Health, pp. 1-18, DOI: 10.1080/23293691.2025.2593858
- 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.
- Menstruation as misconduct: How prisons punish people for having their periods, by Miriam Vishniac and Emily Widra, Prison Policy Initiative, November 2025.
- Vishniac, M. (2025). The New Correctional Afterthought: Menstruation and Incarceration in the U.S.A. [doctoral dissertation, University of Edinburgh]. Edinburgh Research Archive. http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/6247
- Redefining menstrual equity in prisons: Why menstrual equity demands prison abolition, by Regan Moss and Miriam Vishniac, Engenderings, 2024.
- Menstruation and Incarceration in U.S. State and Federal Women’s Prisons, by Miriam Vishniac, E-Health, 2022.
- Menstruating While Incarcerated, by Miriam Vishniac, genderED, 2021.
Cited In:
Academic Journals and Institutions
- Chatfield, S. (2025) ‘Parties and Periods: Partisanship and Menstrual Product Policies in U.S. State Legislatures’, State of the Parties: 2024 and Beyond Conference, Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, November 6-7. University of Akron. Available at: https://www.uakron.edu/bliss/docs/2025-State-of-the-Parties/chatfield-sop-25-paper.pdf
- Edwards, R. (2025). Menstrual Product Deprivation in Prisons: An Eighth Amendment Violation. Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law Blog. https://jgspl.org/menstrual-product-depravation-in-prisons-an-eighth-amendment-violation/
- Robinson, C., Adams, M., Perez-Feliciano, L., & Nayer, G. (2025). Prison Gerrymandering in Texas: Distorting Political Representation and Exacerbating Racial Disparities. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, 13(7). https://doi.org/10.35629/9467-1307174179
- Teji, G. and Wisotsky, S. (2025). Dignity in Detention: Addressing Gynecological Healthcare Needs of People Detained by U.S. Immigration Authorities. Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences, 34(2).
- Jacobs, L. (2025). Bleeding Behind Bars: Access (and lack thereof) to Menstrual Products in Prisons. Metrilineal.
- Moss, R., Fenn, H., & Vilches, S. L. (2025). Menstruation as a gendered weapon of control: Humiliation of women in U.S. prisons. Feminism & Psychology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535251345158
- Wood, M., Garrett, N. E., Routh, D., & Jeffs, M. (2025). Cycles of Neglect: A Statutory Review of State Policies Regarding Feminine Hygiene Product Provision During Incarceration. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X251319406.
- Smith, P., Cullen, F. T., Pickett, J. T., & Jonson, C. L. (2025). Coerced motherhood behind bars: Public support for abortion access for incarcerated women. Criminology & Public Policy, 24(1), pp. 3–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12675.
- Chatfield S. The Politics of Bathroom Access and Exclusion in the United States. Cambridge University Press; 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009429085.
- Characteristics and Patterns of Diagnoses for Patients Admitted from and Discharged to Court or Law Enforcement in the State of Florida, by Christopher Bridgeman, Medical University of South Carolina Doctoral Thesis, 2024.
- Defending Dignity: An Exploration of the Menstrual Equity Movement in Prisons Through the Lens of the Missouri Case, by Molly Reidmiller, Drew University Bachelor Thesis, 2024.
- Influencing the Spread of Prison Menstrual Laws: A Three Essay Analysis of Prison Menstrual Legislation, by Jalonta Jackson, Auburn University Doctoral Thesis, 2023.
- Menstrual Product Deprivation in Prison: A Sex-Neutral Litigation Strategy, by Avery Broome, University of Chicago Legal Forum, 2022.
- The Unique Experiences of Incarcerated Women in The United States: Trends, Theories, and Policy Implications, by Mikayla Marie Vela Martinez, Texas State University Honors Thesis, 2022.
Nonprofit and Advocate Resources
- How Do Incarcerated People in Five State Prisons View Prison Conditions?, by David Pitts, Evelyn F. McCoy, and Alice Galley, Urban Institute, December 2025.
- From Victim to Defendant: How Justice Falls Short for Women, by Sarah Anderson and Lisel Petis, R Street, October 2025.
- Texas Prisons, Lioness, 2025.
- June 2025 newsletter from Women Beyond Walls, Women Beyond Walls, 2025.
- Policies for waiving medical copays in prisons are not enough to undo the harm caused by charging incarcerated people for health care access, by Emily Widra and Dr. Emily Lupez, Prison Policy Initiative, May 2025.
- Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, 13th edition, Columbia Human Rights Law Review, (Chapter 23, 2025).
- Menstrual Health: A Policy Roadmap for Closing the Menstrual Health Gap, Essity, 2025.
- Women’s Justice: A Preliminary Assessment of Women in the Criminal Justice System, Council on Criminal Justice, 2024.
- Women’s Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2024, by Aleks Kajstura and Wendy Sawyer, Prison Policy Initiative, 5 Mar, 2024.
- PERIODS IN PRISON: A 4-Part Workshop about Period Poverty and Menstrual Equity in U.S. Correctional Facilities, PERIOD. and the Thurman Perry Foundation, 2023.
- Position Message on SB 209, New Hampshire Women’s Foundation, 16 Feb, 2023.
News and Media
- Robertson, A. (2026) M Talk: How do women manage menstruations in prison? [podcast]. January 2. Available at: https://rss.com/podcasts/m-talk/2388926/
- Incarcerated women often don’t have enough period products, by Amanda Watford, Stateline, 17 Dec, 2025.
- Punished for bleeding: How periods in prison become a trap, by Candice Norwood, The 19th, 4 Dec, 2025.
- Punishing Menstruation: Human Rights Failure in US Prisons, Report Says, by Irene Lilley, Vanguard News Group, 16 Nov, 2025.
- Ohio bill would mandate free feminine hygiene products for inmates, by Ava Boldizar, WCMH, 16 Apr, 2025.
- Ep. 23: Prison and tampons and Ronald Reagan, by Frances, Kinda Radical Podcast, 2024.
- Waiting Period: Behind bars, access to feminine hygiene products can be limited, by Jill Riepenhoff and Joce Sterman, InvestigateTV, 21 Oct 2024.
- California bill aims to end ‘dangerous barrier’ to menstrual care in prisons, by Olivia Empson, The Guardian, 5 Sep, 2024.
- For some incarcerated women, getting ahold of menstrual products is a nightmare, by Anabel Sosa and Keri Blakinger, The Los Angeles Times, 2 Jun, 2024.
- How to Fight Period Poverty, by Tariro Mzezewa, The Cut: New York Magazine, 6 Oct, 2023.
- DOC stopped providing tampons to detainees – despite 2016 law mandating it, by Kelly Grace Price, City and State, 20 Sep, 2023.
- Breaking the Cycle, by Mia Clarke, Body of Knowledge, 2022.
- Boys in the Yard, by TJ and Lizzy, Unlocking Wentworth Podcast, 2022.
- Poor access to menstrual products in N.M. creates health hazards, by Lissa Knudsen, SourceNM, 2021.
Page last updated Jan 6, 2026
