Many state prison systems systematically ban women's health books, often labeling depictions of the female anatomy as "sexually explicit." 

Which is unfortunate because research shows that such information helps reduce risky behavior related to women’s health and the rate of reincarceration. 

Omnicom Health Group Teamed with the Claremont Forum’s Prison Library Project on a novel and daring campaign called “Contrabanned” to highlight the misguided prison policies.  

With the help of OHG, The Prison Library Project created a first-of-its-kind women's health book that circumvented one prison’s illogical ban: Each page of the book was sent to an incarcerated woman whose name is being kept anonymous for her safety.  

Over a three-month period, each page of the book was mailed as a letter to the inmate.  She then stitched the pages together using dental floss available in the prison commissary to create a complete book. She also made printouts of the pages which she shared with fellow inmates, enabling them to assemble their own books. 

The book, created by female health literacy experts and medical students, explains relevant topics such as menstrual health, breast cancer, and sexual health simply and clearly. It was written and designed specifically for the 975,000 incarcerated women in the US, 70% of whom cannot read at a fourth-grade level. 

"The campaign and book highlight the growing censorship of women's health books in prison libraries across America," says Dina Peck, Chief Creative Officer of OHG's Purpose Group. "Anyone who wants health education should have access to it. Our hope is that people will sign a petition and make this book the first approved women's health book across the prison system."   

The petition can be found here.  

The Claremont (CA) Forum’s Prison Library Project addresses the issue of insufficient literacy skills and limited access to reading materials among incarcerated men and women nationwide. They've mailed over half a million books to correctional facilities across the United States since 1992.