silverchips
April 26, 2023 Opinions B3
Normalizing period pain The U.S. must pass paid menstrual leave By Sela Colavito Staff Writer
leave for the working class), points out how common many of these issues are. “I think it’s acknowledging the reality of some people’s lives. [Menstruation is] something that should be acknowledged and not be considered shameful or stigmatized or secret,” she said in an
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interview with Silver Chips. According to the BBC survey, only roughly 17 percent of women whose work is affected by their pain took a sick day as a result. This statistic indicates that many
employees needed time off and felt like they could not ask for it. A built-in policy will take the pressure off the employee of approaching their boss, and instead create an open space for conversations about women’s health. Some, however, are concerned about the effect that menstrual leave will have on the image of professional women. A 2017 opinion piece in The Washington Post argued that paid menstrual leave is unnecessary and only makes women appear weak in the workplace. However, this point of view further distances menstruation from the other common medical problems. There is no real difference between sick leave and menstrual leave except that it acknowledges and accommodates the pain that menstruating people experience every month. When paid menstrual leave is portrayed as weak, it further silences people who menstruate and normalizes experiencing pain without asking for help— something we should work toward eliminating for all. Throughout their lives, menstruating people have been taught to go about their day while enduring often excruciating and unmanageable pain. Period pain is not considered a medical problem in America, and the lack of legislation surrounding this issue continues to affect the physical well being and careers of menstruating people.
They are expected to endure the intense process their bodies are carrying out, while fulfilling professional duties, which can be physically intensive, time-consuming, or mentally stressful.
[Menstruation is] something that should be acknowledged and not be considered shameful or stigmatized or secret.
DAWN HUCKLEBRIDGE
AN OPINION The Spanish government passed the first paid menstrual leave law in Europe on Feb. 16 allowing people who menstruate to take three to five days off of work with a doctor’s note if they are experiencing disabling period symptoms that prevent them from performing their job properly and comfortably. A handful of laws allowing paid menstrual leave have been implemented across the world in nations like the Soviet Union, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea. The majority of countries have not considered it, but now is the time. The U.S. should allow people with menstrual cycles three to five days of paid “menstrual leave” each month if they are experiencing period symptoms that negatively affect their ability to work. Menstruation symptoms can be incredibly painful and detrimental to the well being of those who experience them. This law would treat disabling periods like any other illness, which is justified given that 52 percent of respondents in a 2016 BBC survey reported that period pain affected their ability to work. Such symptoms simply cannot be solved with a simple Ibuprofen or Tylenol on the job. In addition to physical pain from abdominal cramps, migraines, and other symptoms, the impacts of menstruation can be mental as well. A study conducted by the National Library of Medicine found that lowered levels of
estrogen and progesterone during menstruation can cause elevated anxiety and stress. The hormone changes during menstrual cycles are generally not taken very seriously, but they affect mental health. Especially during that time of the month, breaks are necessary, and it turns out that ignoring the body’s need for rest can actually negatively affect businesses. A 2019 Radboud University Survey calculated that presenteeism, or “productivity loss while at work or school,” among working women despite debilitating period symptoms accounts for an average of nearly nine days of lost productivity per person each year. This means that a few days of paid menstrual leave can actually increase productivity in the workplace. Workers can take a couple days to recover, and come back to their job in abetter condition to be productive. Furthermore, a menstrual leave law will help dissolve myths and promote transparency around the pain people with periods experience. Only 27 percent of women who experienced period pain affecting their ability to work had told their boss period pain was responsible. Dawn Huckelbridge, Director of Paid Leave for All (a national collaboration of organizations campaigning for fair paid
Existing paid sick leave policies are completely insufficient to address the needs of menstruating individuals; they barely cover general illnesses, let alone leave room for people to take days off for monthly occurrences. Natividad Martín García, an Equity Delegate on the San Juan City Council in Seville, Spain, talks about the true motivation behind the new law. “[It] is not just a struggle for equality…it is to find a way of life more equal and [ensure] that we all have the same opportunities,” she said in an interview with Silver Chips. It’s time for the workplace to accommodate people’s bodies, not the other way around.