Crime

Feminine products for inmates in jails, prisons get attention

FLORIDA COURIER — It’s something most women rarely chat about with strangers. But Valencia Gunder is walking the halls of the Capitol talking about menstruation.

Published

7 years ago

April 9, 2019

Oakland Post

By The Florida Courier

TALLAHASSEE – It’s something most women rarely chat about with strangers.

But Valencia Gunder is walking the halls of the Capitol talking about menstruation.

Specifically, Gunder’s leading a discussion about the struggles incarcerated women in Florida face because they don’t have adequate feminine products like tampons and sanitary napkins.

Gunder, a former inmate who’s now a lobbyist for the group Dignity Florida, is pushing a proposal that would require state prisons and county jails to make tampons and napkins more readily available to female prisoners.

“We are not asking for a luxury, state of Florida. We are asking for bare necessities. Women should not have to use extra pairs of socks as pads. Women should not have to use all of their tissues. Women should not have to be embarrassed to ask for extra sanitary napkins and tampons,” Gunder told reporters during a recent press conference in the Capitol.

A ‘dignity’ issue

The state Department of Corrections already has a rule requiring female inmates to have access to “adequate” feminine hygiene products.

The agency “is committed to ensuring the dignity and fair treatment of all incarcerated individuals in Florida,” spokeswoman Michelle Glady said.

“Our current policy and practices provides feminine hygiene products at no cost to inmates, necessary health and comfort items, and has search policies in place that are committed to ensuring inmates privacy in respect to their gender,” Glady said.

Bipartisan support

But Gunder and other advocates say guards sometimes deny requests for pads – state prisons don’t give female inmates tampons – as a way of punishing or humiliating women behind bars.

“It’s just humiliating, in general, (to be denied) things that you need,” Gunder, 34, said in a recent interview.

Female inmates also say the napkins given away by jails and prisons often don’t do the job.

The proposal (HB 49 and SB 332), called the “Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act,” has received bipartisan, unanimous approval from three subcommittees and committees in the House and Senate. It was scheduled to be heard Tuesday in the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee.

A no-cost push

The proposal would require prisons and jails to make “health care products” – including tampons, moisturizing soap that is not lye-based, toothbrushes and toothpaste – available to female inmates “at no cost to the woman in a quantity that is appropriate to the needs of the woman.”

The products must be available “in common housing areas,” so that women don’t have to request them from guards.

Tampons and pads are available at some prison or jail canteens, but not all women can afford to purchase the products, Rep. Shevrin Jones, a West Park Democrat who is sponsoring the House measure, told a committee recently.

All-female pat downs

Incarcerated women are being “forced to make the impossible decision of constructing your own menstrual products, using anything from clothing or notebook paper, in place of a tampon,” Jones said, before the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee unanimously signed off on the bill.

“Without adequate access to clean, hygienic menstrual products, you may face serious health consequences. This happens every single month, and for some with irregular cycles, more frequently,” he added.

The proposal also would require that pat downs and strip searches of inmates be done by female guards and would ban male corrections officers from entering showers, restrooms or other places where incarcerated women may be undressed, policies that are already in place in some facilities.

But the legislation goes further, by requiring male guards to announce their presence after entering women’s housing units.

‘Embarrassing’ experience

Gunder, who’s the criminal justice program manager at the group New Florida Majority, said she first spoke about her negative experience as an inmate with her period while at a national conference two years ago.

“It was one of the hardest stories I ever had to share. It was extremely embarrassing. It’s something I don’t necessarily like to talk about a lot, but we can help the thousands of women who are incarcerated. But it is extremely hard because it’s something that people don’t talk about, outside of to a mother,” Gunder said.

After her remarks, Gunder said she met Topeka K. Sam, who’s a leader in the national “Dignity for Incarcerated Women” movement and discovered that women throughout the country were already working to make sure incarcerated females had access to adequate feminine products.

“It was a freeing moment for me and what was so amazing was that this group of women who all were incarcerated and they were, like, we know exactly what you’re talking about, and this is what we’re doing to fix it,” Gunder said.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Miami-Dade County Democrat is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.

This article originally appeared in the Florida Courier.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

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23 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

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23 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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Crime

Congresswoman Simon Demands Investigation into Trump’s Abuse of Emergency Powers for Coal Export Terminal in West Oakland

POST NEWS GROUP — Last week, in a letter to the GAO Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, Simon and her colleagues questioned the Department of Energy’s plan to use up to $425 million in DPA funds to support coal-fired power plants and construct the West Gateway Terminal Project in Oakland.

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1 week ago

August 9, 2026

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‘No On Coal’ demonstrators protest the use of the Port of Oakland as a terminal to ship coal overseas. File photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) joined California senators and other members of the California delegation to Congress to call on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act and other taxpayer funds to support coal projects, including the proposed coal export terminal in West Oakland.

Defense Production Act funding is for national defense emergencies, such as authorizing private car companies to build parts for tanks or ships.

Since President Donald Trump’s June 4 announcement of $75 million in funding for the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, Simon has opposed and worked to stop the proposed coal terminal.

She filed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2027 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that would have prohibited funding for the proposed Oakland coal export terminal project; however, House Republicans blocked the amendment.

Last week, in a letter to the GAO Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, Simon and her colleagues questioned the Department of Energy’s plan to use up to $425 million in DPA funds to support coal-fired power plants and construct the West Gateway Terminal Project in Oakland.

This terminal project would primarily serve foreign commercial markets, rather than meet national emergency needs.

“The Defense Production Act was intended to scale up domestic industrial capabilities to meet urgent military or national emergency needs; therefore, its invocation to construct a commercial, civilian export facility intended primarily to serve foreign commercial markets raises profound statutory, legal, and fiscal questions,” wrote the lawmakers, which included Senators Alex Padilla (D) and Adam Schiff (D), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee and Reps. John Garamendi (D-CA-08) and Ro Khanna (D-CA-17).

“We do not believe this satisfies the statutory definition of ‘national defense’ or ‘critical infrastructure protection’ under the DPA and that there is no legally sufficient, data-driven nexus between civilian coal exports and immediate U.S. military readiness or critical infrastructure defense,” the lawmakers’ letter said.

DPA funds are intended for U.S. national security and defense readiness. The Trump administration is instead diverting these funds to support a commercial export project that primarily benefits private industries and foreign markets in East Asia.

“Congress has never appropriated funds to the DOE’s DPA account with the intent of propping up a dying industry or financing a purely commercial project,” continued the lawmakers. “We are deeply concerned that DOE has improperly diverted funds from accounts intended by Congress for the critical modernization and resilience support of our nation’s grid to instead finance a commercial fossil fuel export project.”

Simon and colleagues also raised concerns that the Trump administration has improperly diverted funds designated for critical grid modernization and may be using emergency authorities to circumvent local environmental protections.

“With no clear national security nexus, we question whether the DOE utilized emergency DPA authorities with the intent of preempting or subverting valid local health ordinances and environmental regulations. If so, this would be a gross departure from the intent of the DPA,” concluded the lawmakers.