BCHS Executive Leader Engagement and Advocacy Nicole Ferrie said while there were significant costs to the economy in lost productivity due to women’s pain, what mattered most was the impact on those who suffered.
“For too long, these subjects have been seen as ‘women’s issues’, because they make people uncomfortable,” Nicole said.
“Girls and women are shamed for talking about their bodies and specifically, how their bodies function. So they suffer in silence.
“We don’t talk openly about menstruation, or the real pain that comes with that. For years, women have tolerated that because ‘it’s private’.
“We rarely talk about the impact of perimenopause or menopause. Or that women can bleed so heavily they miss work, or social events, or their iron levels become so low they’re too tired to get through the day.”
Nicole said society needed to normalise talking about women’s bodies and what they do, to remove the shame and stigma and to stop making girls and women responsible for others’ discomfort.
“Only then will women start to feel heard and believed about what their bodies are experiencing,” she said.
BCHS will speak on behalf of its clients and its clinicians when it contributes to the inquiry in the first quarter of 2024.
The service looks forward to the inquiry bringing to light the real and enduring challenges women and girls face when seeking care and support for pain.
BCHS recommends those with lived experience of pain, and healthcare workers who provide pain services, care and treatment, also take part by looking out for the Engage Victoria survey, which the Department of Health will distribute in late March 2024.
Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash.
