“I should have been taught a lesson. But the pain was so bad – it made me cry,” recalls Judy Burch. “I had to go home.” Today she runs a therapy service in the UK for people with lower abdominal pain. Billions of women suffer from painful menstruation. Heavy bleeding, spasms, weakness, nausea, diarrhea – current research shows that 90% of women of childbearing age are familiar with these symptoms, a third also experience excruciatingly intense pain. And one in five women, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, in such a situation is unable to handle even everyday activities.

“I was just trying to hold on somehow, I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t function properly,” says Judy Burch. Dysmenorrhea is the medical term for painful menstruation. In Germany, according to the insurance company Techniker Krankenkasse, every tenth woman experiences such intense pain that she abandons her work schedule for 1-3 days a month.

Additional license for women: a first for Europe

In some non-European countries, women can take a vacation during this period. But the practice is controversial because women fear stigma and discrimination. However, Spain could become a pioneer in Europe. On May 17, the country’s Council of Ministers voted to allow women to take three additional days of paid leave once a month and five days for especially severe symptoms. This requires a certificate from a doctor. All expenses will be reimbursed by the State. Now, the project must be approved by Parliament.

In Spain itself, the attitude towards this reform is ambiguous. Some politicians, as well as representatives of trade unions and women’s organizations, are opposed and believe that this will negatively affect women, for example, in the search for work, as companies will give preference to men. These views are shared by the Minister of Economy, Nadia Calvino. Toni Morillas, head of the government’s Women’s Institute, on the other hand, sees no threat of discrimination. “In our country, there is a difficulty in recognizing menstruation as a physiological process, which must be associated with certain rights,” she said in an interview with Politico. According to statistics, every third Spaniard suffers painful menstruation.

The innovation is part of the bill, which also provides for the abolition of ICMS on hygiene items, vacation days for women who decide to have an abortion, as well as the admission of girls aged 16 and over to the abortion procedure without parental consent. .

countries with menstruation

A similar bill was supposed to be considered in Italy in 2017, but even there it caused heated discussion over fears that the innovation would only increase discrimination in the workplace. As a result, these plans were abandoned. To this day, countries where menstrual leave, or at least working from home on critical days for women are allowed, can be counted on the fingers. In Taiwan, in particular, vacations are additionally allowed for up to three days per year at half salary. In South Korea, women are paid one day a month, but the payment is not regulated by law. Other examples are Japan, Indonesia and Zambia.

Menstrual pain – still taboo at work

Veve Hitipev, director of consulting firm Kiroyan Partners in Indonesia, as an employer is required to give women days off, but this rule helped her: “In those days, it happened, I couldn’t sit in a chair and stand at the computer for 8-9 hours.” She sees extra paid time as a good thing, but has seen a lot of prejudice from people who think women are simply shirking their jobs. This is especially true for factory employment. In Japan, this rule has been in effect since 1947. However, recent surveys show that only one in ten women in this country takes extra days off. Almost half admit that there were situations in which they would take advantage of such an opportunity, but they didn’t dare, because they didn’t want to get in touch with a male boss or because other women don’t either.

And in European countries, where there are relatively liberal rules regarding vacations and sick leave, absence from work due to painful menstruation is also uncommon. A survey conducted in the Netherlands in 2019 showed that 14% of women took sick leave because of these problems, but only one in five indicated the real reason.

what women think

In her work in therapy, the British Judy Burch often hears from women that they prefer not to be absent from work because of menstrual cramps. “Many people have problems if they regularly take sick leave every month,” she says. Women face disciplinary action or even dismissal. Each country has its own degree of freedom in this matter. In the United States, for example, opportunities to take paid vacations in general are severely limited.

Judy Burch considers the Spanish initiative insufficient: “If you feel pain every month, three days are not enough. It is a regrettable alms”. For her, global changes in the work environment for greater flexibility are much more important. Veve Hitipev, for its part, is confident of the benefits of such a law, as it recognizes the existence of a problem and offers support to women. “Companies must give them the opportunity to exercise their profession and, at the same time, fulfill their roles in society – as a person, woman and mother”, emphasizes the manager.

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