Prison Library Project's 'Contrabanned' Campaign Breaks Barriers in Women's Health Education Behind Bars

The Prison Library Project has introduced a pioneering initiative named 'Contrabanned', designed to address the critical gap in women's health education within the U.S. prison system. This campaign, launched during Prison Banned Books Week, targets the 975,000 incarcerated women who often find themselves deprived of basic health literacy resources due to the systematic banning of women's health books in prisons.

'Contrabanned' ingeniously bypasses these censorship barriers by distributing each of the book's 250 pages as individual letters, a method not subjected to the same restrictions as books. This innovative approach was realized over three months, with pages sent to an anonymous incarcerated woman, a former nurse, who assembled them into a complete book using dental floss. This not only facilitated the creation of the book but also enabled the distribution of multiple copies within the prison.

The content of 'Contrabanned' is meticulously crafted by female health literacy experts and medical students, covering essential topics such as menstrual health, breast cancer, and sexual health. It is tailored to be accessible to the 70% of incarcerated women who read below a fourth-grade level, addressing a significant public health concern.

Mckenna Deluca from the Prison Library Project highlights the dual impact of 'Contrabanned': empowering incarcerated women with knowledge and fostering peer education, which research shows can reduce risky behavior and reincarceration rates. The project also includes a petition to make 'Contrabanned' the first approved women's health book across the prison system, challenging the status quo of censorship in prison libraries.

Dr. Susan Andreas, a contributor to the book, emphasizes the broader implications of limited health literacy, including higher hospitalization rates and susceptibility to chronic conditions among women. 'Contrabanned' represents a critical step towards mitigating these issues by ensuring access to health-literate content.

As the Prison Library Project continues to advocate for universal access to health education in prisons, 'Contrabanned' stands as a testament to the power of innovative solutions in overcoming systemic barriers. This initiative not only provides vital information to a marginalized population but also ignites essential conversations about prison reform, health literacy, and the rights of incarcerated individuals.