NAPS to work with female prison in menstrual health education drive
20 Nov 2007
NAPS founder Dr Katherina Dalton was the first doctor to look closely at menstrual health and its link to offending behaviour in women.This involved regular visits to Holloway prison, where she interviewed newly committed prisoners.
NAPS was, therefore, very pleased to be recently contacted by a female prisoner, who asked whether the Association would be interested in holding an event for fellow inmates on menstrual health. Dr Dalton found that 49 per cent had been sentenced for crimes committed during the paramenstruum (four days prior to the start of menstruation and first four days of menstruation). Her study results indicated that there was a connection between PMS and offending behaviour. In France PMS has been successfully used as a temporary insanity defence and in the UK it has also been used as a defence, in one case reducing the charge from murder to manslaughter. Certainly severe moods swings and aggressive behaviour, together with relationship issues, have been well documented in PMS. Following subsequent contact between NAPS and HMP Send in Woking, Surrey, a female establishment for 219 women, we have been formerly asked to run a menstrual health education day at the prison early next year. To support this, a survey of how PMS affects inmates offending behaviour is to be conducted by the inmates themselves. The study day will cover issues such as contraception, PMS and any relationship issues arising from symptoms.
Following on from the work of Katherina Dalton we have provided advice to many thousands of women, which has given us a special insight into the impact PMS has had on women. This experience suggests that many women experience blind anger and deep depressive episodes during which their behaviour changes dramatically and they tell of experiencing a dual personality. This is why PMS is called the Jeykll and Hyde syndrome. And it is worth recalling that the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based upon a real person from Edinburgh who was a magistrate by day and a burglar by night!
NAPS have long believed that PMS is an influence in offending and needs to be taken into much greater account. We hope that the opportunity to discuss their experiences with women prisoners will help them manage their health more effectively and illuminate any relationship between PMS and their offending.
