The Prison Flow Project blog is now LIVE! Read more about why founder Miriam Vishniac went into this work and what she found in her doctoral research: theprisonflowproject.com/2026/02/15/w...

The US GAO has quietly released its report on incarcerated menstruation. This report shows that the BOP is failing to adhere to its own guidelines. When they recommended ICE clarify requirements for providing these items, they refused. www.gao.gov/products/gao...

So excited to see that my interview with M Talk by the M Scale is up! Check out S01 E05 to learn more about the struggle to menstruate while confined. themscale.com/period-podca...

More coverage discussing how common disciplinary policies and a lack of enforcement harms incarcerated menstruators!

Submission for our blog are now OPEN! Have you experienced menstruation or menopause in detention? Have you led a campaign to change laws? Have you done research, or want to summarize research? WE WANT TO KNOW! theprisonflowproject.com/blog-submiss...

Incarcerated women and trans people in the U.S. are punished for their periods. They describe: 🟣 making their own tampons out of unsanitary items 🟣 facing penalties for having more tampons or pads than allowed 🟣 being humiliated by prison staff — yes, even women My latest for @19thnews.org:

On this International People with Disabilities Day, we think of the many disabled menstruators in prison. Disability rights in prison are known to be a huge issue, making their access to menstrual products questionable. www.prisonpolicy.org/research/dis...

Support this necessary work!! We cannot have conversations around prisons without the people directly impacted whose voices too often get overlooked.

New brief in collaboration with the Cross-Center Collaboration on the Health of Justice-Involved Women and Children (JIWC) at @umn-mch.bsky.social! State Laws on Access to Menstrual Products for People who are Pregnant while Incarcerated - mch.umn.edu/wp-content/u...

A lack of toilet paper was a consistent issue for the people I talked with in my research, almost as much of an issue as lack of access to menstrual products. Women generally only get as much as men. This preferential treatment makes it clear that is a CHOICE. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

It is so exciting to see news media discussing the injustices faced by incarcerated menstruators! davisvanguard.org/2025/11/pris...

Prison disciplinary policies often target menstruators and make it even harder for them to access menstrual products. My analysis with @prisonpolicy.org dug into this widespread issue.

In DC for the American Society of Criminology annual meeting! Look for me around or come find me at poster session II, Thursday evening, 7:30-8:30!

On my way to the annual @amersoccriminology.bsky.social meeting in DC! Looking forward to seeing old friends and presenting important research! Find me at poster session II!

The dehumanization of incarcerated people is what makes menstrual discrimination in prison possible. Menstrual equity requires human compassion.

The people in prison and who have experienced prison are the Experts. You do not get to claim to know anything if you ignore their voices.

Imprisoning people far from their families and then charging those people an insane amount to stay in contact when we know it leads to better outcomes post-release is cruel and ensures people keep getting imprisoned.

I was supposed to present at the Conference on Poverty and Basic Needs hosted by the @diapernetwork.bsky.social and @periodsupplies.bsky.social last week, but had an unfortunately-times family emergency. So instead, I have posted my materials online! theprisonflowproject.com/2025-u-s-con...

A reminder that people in prison are still deserving of human compassion, as all humans are.

Thank you to everyone who made our inaugural #PeriodActionDay webinar a success! We posted the recording on the event page for anyone who couldn’t make it. #periodequity #prison #periodpoverty #criminology #womensrights #genderequity

HAVE YOU MADE #PeriodActionDay PLANS YET?! We’ve got you covered! #PAD25 #menstrualequity #menstrualjustice #prisons #womensrights #periodpoverty #massincarceration #criminaljustice #criminology #feminism #sociology #genderequity #socialpolicy #socialpolicy #publichealth

Over 80 advocacy orgs have voiced their opposition to the $360 million proposal to build a new women's prison in MA. Instead of new construction, we need investment in community-based alternatives that have proven track records of improving public safety. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/12/m...

We’re starting a monthly blog in early 2026 focusing on periods in places of confinement! If you have experienced that or are an advocate or researcher, we want to hear from you! Check out our submission guidelines below. #socialscience #menstruation #menstrualequity #periodpoverty #menstrualrights

Looking for something to do this #PeriodActionDay? The Prison Flow Project is hosting a webinar panel on periods in prison: how periods impact the experience of prison, how current policies hurt menstruators, and what we can do to make change. 10:30 am CT, October 11th! Sign up at bit.ly/4pzXKj5

Are YOU planning on going to the 14th Annual U.S. Conference on Poverty & Basic Needs? Both Prison Flow Project founder, @miriamvishniac.bsky.social and board member Regan Moss, MPH will be presenting! Hosted by @diapernetwork.bsky.social and @periodsupplies.bsky.social, learn more at BIT.LY/CPBN25

Now with our own LinkedIn page! Connect with us! www.linkedin.com/company/the-...

Periods in prison are not niche, they fundamentally impact the experience of prison for menstruators and show how dehumanizing people in the name of ‘justice’ has serious consequences.

Prison guards routinely use their power over menstrual products to sexually abuse women in their power. Yet attorneys routinely fail to call these items out by name in legal documents, essentially covering up sex-linked abuse. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/03/10/s...

Are you someone who is interested in #confinedperiods, studies the topic, has experienced one, or wants to summarize academic manuscripts for a lay audience? Coming soon, the Prison Flow Project monthly blog: a unique place for sharing narratives, period. theprisonflowproject.com/2025/08/15/i...

Stumbled across this amazing presentation the other day from 2021 and I will never stop being blown away by rad young women speaking up and calling out bullshit. youtu.be/yq2o-YPLE8A?...

Finally making moves to establish The Prison Flow Project as a nonprofit supporting, among other things, research on menstruation in places of confinement and the voices of those directly affected. Hit me up if you have advice, pls!

How serious can menstrual discrimination be? Well, it affects discipline and can prevent earning any ‘good time.’ It places an unfair financial burden on menstruators. It isolates them from their families and may prevent visits with attorneys. And it can cause serious mental and physical issues.

Doctoral dissertation now publicly accessible! dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/...

The website now includes a document library with a full collection of the handbooks, commissary lists, and rule books obtained from all jurisdictions. Please feel free to use this as a resource! theprisonflowproject.com/document-lib...

Dissertation incoming! Posting link as soon as it's live.

Most prisons have rules prohibiting poor personal hygiene. This effectively bans menstruation in prison, leaving women and menstruators under constant fear of punishment for having a period.

New citation alert! Fabulous research on how prisons use menstruation as a weapon of shame. 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). doi.org/10.1177/0959...

Also accepted to present a poster on Menstrual Indignities in U.S. Prisons at the @amersoccriminology.bsky.social annual meeting in November! Come find me!

I will be presenting at the @diapernetwork.bsky.social and @periodsupplies.bsky.social 2025 U.S. Conference on Poverty and Basic Needs! My topic is: How Non-Menstruator Bias Punishes Incarcerated Menstruators - A Closer Look at Menstrual Indignities in Prison.

Decades of #massincarceration paved the way for our current crisis of democracy. You can’t be pro-democracy AND pro-incarceration.

My friend made my graphic even better!

Any gender can menstruate. People assigned female at birth and intersex at birth can menstruate. Not all women menstruate. Disabled people menstruate. #MenstrualRights means recognizing all menstruation in all bodies. #Pride2025

I just had another interview with someone putting together a book on global menstrual policy, and it went fabulously and I’m just so thrilled to see more people in this space. 🥹 Periods matter, menstruators matter, fuck yes!

Have you ever thought about what it’s like to have to be strip-searched while menstruating? There are many recorded incidents of menstruators left bleeding on themselves and the floor as officers made comments. How is this #justice? #menstrualequity #menstrualfreedom #menstrualrights #periodpoverty

Limiting access to clean clothing + showers has consequences for menstruators, who are forced to walk around for days in blood-stained clothing. This can result in skipped family visits, in an attempt to protect children from seeing the reality of how their parent is being treated. #menstrualrights

There is no transgender prison housing law that recognizes men + non-binary people menstruate too and need products in men’s facilities. This may leave people already vulnerable to abuse, harassment, and violence with a literal red target on them. #periodsinprison #menstrualequity #menstrualfreedom

Five incidents THAT WE KNOW OF where prison guards used their power over menstrual products to rape women in fed and state systems in CA, AL, FL, NJ, and NY, from 2011-2021. No legal org is tracking this. Menstrual products are not called out by name in complaints.

Periods in prison are not ‘niche.’ Punishment for poor hygiene, sharing products, and makeshift products can result in unequal access to ‘good time’, or shaving days off a sentence.

DO NOT RANK CUOMO flyer drive.google.com/file/d/1R6Gv...