Starting next month, any women who visit inmates in Virginia’s prisons are banned from wearing tampons or menstrual cups.
The state’s Department of Corrections says its new rule is aimed at preventing contraband from being smuggled into its prisons.
“If someone chooses to visit a Virginia Department of Corrections inmate, he or she cannot have anything hidden inside a body cavity,” spokeswoman Lisa Kinney told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “There have been many instances in which visitors have attempted to smuggle drugs into our prisons by concealing those drugs in a body cavity, including the vagina.”
Body scanners are used to check visitors for contraband. If possible contraband is seen on the scanner, the visitor must consent to a strip search or body cavity search, or have their request for visitation denied.
Kinney told the newspaper that visitors who are wearing tampons will be offered menstrual pads. The policy does not apply to attorneys visiting their clients, Kinney told NPR.
We really need a word for the targeting of menstruation – like this, and overtaxing necessary items, and ads aimed to make us feel ashamed for having a period, etc. – mod BP
Virginia Prisons Ban Visitors From Wearing Tampons, Citing Contraband Concerns
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