By Bethany Ruby Rose-
The British government is consulting on plans to bolster police codes of practice to safeguard the dignity of women in police custody. The consultation is in relation with menstruating women in custody are treated with dignity.
The consultation follows the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) writing to the Home Office in January highlighting police failure in meeting required standards in relation to female detainees.The Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) found that the peculiar needs of menstruating women in custody were regularly and routinely ignored. Menstruating women have in the past often been left without the much needed assistance of woman police officers, shamefully depriving them access to adequate and hygienic sanitary protection.
The Eye Of Media.Com has heard that on top of that, facilities for washing and changing while on their period have not only been unavailable, but has also been ignored. The January letter cited ‘inadequate consideration’ being ‘given to menstruation’. In extreme cases, women were left in paper suits without their underwear and without sanitary protection.’
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In 2017, the example of a woman who was ‘observed by visitors in a police cell, after being stripped and dressed in a paper suit, was highlighted by the ICVA. The woman, whose identity has been withheld even from The Eye Of Media.Com, to protect her dignity, suffered the embarrassment of having her underwear removed , despite the fact she was on her period. A visitor asked for this woman to be given underwear and sanitary protection, but the request was ‘refused’. The woman’s unfortunate experience is typical of several hundreds across England, according to the ICVA.
A spokesperson for The ICVA told The Eye Of Media.Com : ” The failure to protect the interests and dignity of menstruating female detainees in custody has been one of the most reckless and indefensible failings of recent years which has largely gone unnoticed. The steps taken by the British government to address this has been a long awaited one, and will hopefully draw a line of years of neglect and negligence. Efforts to tackle this failing has finally produced results and female detainees in custody can now expect to have their dignity preserved”.
POLICING GUIDANCE
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Under college of Policing guidance, women must be automatically offered access to a female officer and hygiene pack. But the ICVA found poor practice among forces, with women being left without basic sanitary protection in police cells. Examples included a force not providing tampons for safety reasons, female detainees being stripped of all clothing including underwear and placed in paper suits with no menstrual products being offered, a lack of access to hand-washing facilities and concerns about the use of CCTV in cells.
The Home Office has been working with ICVA and have published proposals to clarify the police’s responsibilities towards women in custody. The draft revisions to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) codes of practice are set to ensure arrangements in place for all female detainees to speak to a female member of staff if requested . Special new provisions will also ensure female detainees are asked at the earliest opportunity if they are likely to require any menstrual products while in police custody, and made aware that these will be provided free of charge.
The dignity of menstruating female detainees in police custody is paramount, and the duty will be placed on the police to make the necessary inquiries.
Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd, said:
Everyone who is held in custody should be treated with dignity and have their needs respected.
Our proposals should leave forces across the country in no doubt of their responsibilities towards women in custody.
After receiving the letter from ICVA, the then Home Secretary wrote to all chief constables asking them to review relevant policies and procedures in their forces.
The 6-week consultation launched today comes as the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and College of Policing produces new operational guidance for police regarding the treatment of female detainees in police custody. Katie Kempen, Chief Executive of the Independent Custody Visiting Association, said:
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Independent custody visitors invest their time visiting police custody to monitor detainee wellbeing; the Home Office has acted quickly and decisively in response to our reports of shocking conditions for menstruating detainees.
The proposed changes to PACE are a significant step forward in ensuring that the dignity of female detainees is upheld in police cells.