Welcome to

Former female prisoners rallied at the State Capitol Wednesday morning in support of legislation that would require Florida prisons to provide feminine hygiene products to inmates.

Supporters say female prisoners are often provided with a limited supply and forced to pay for, or even outright denied additional mensural products.

“For a woman who has resources, I had support, who had to actually quantify my cycle, which meant put used pads in a brown paper bag to show a male officer in order for them to get me more pads, and the inhumane and disgusting treatment that I felt, I couldn’t imagine what women felt and went through who didn’t have resources,” said Topeka K. Sam, Director of Dignity for Incarcerated Women.

The bill would also make changes to how male corrections staff are allowed to handle female inmates.

It also increases reporting of inappropriate incidents between male staff and female prisoners.