Many women experience pain during their periods. So strong that working seems impossible. Spain could now be the first country in Europe to grant menstrual leave to women. But how useful is that?
In Europe, Spain could become a pioneer in terms of menstrual leave. A proposed law that will be decided by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday provides that women with severe menstrual pain can take three days of extra paid vacation per month. However, only with a medical certificate. The idea of periodic leave is not new, but it is controversial.
First of all, the term menstrual leave is misleading. Anyone who has ever spent the day on the sofa huddled in pain with a hot water bottle during their period knows that menstrual cramps have nothing to do with what most people think of as vacation days. The term holiday gives all those who do not menstruate a completely wrong impression. “Menstrual leave” describes the legal entitlement to special leave because of menstrual pain more aptly. Heavy bleeding, cramps, tiredness, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea – up to 91 percent of women of childbearing age suffer from these symptoms, as an analysis of studies shows. Around 30 percent experience severe pain. In a survey, women also describe mood swings or back pain as symptoms of dysmenorrhea, as painful menstrual bleeding is called. Severe complaints – for which many employees would take sick leave.
A study in the Netherlands surveyed over 30,000 women aged 15 to 45. A third stated that they had already seen a doctor because of severe menstrual problems. For some women, menstrual cramps can be as severe as the pain of a heart attack, says Professor John Guillebaud of University College London’s Institute of Women’s Health. 14 percent of the Dutch women surveyed had called in sick because of menstrual pain – only a fifth of them gave the real reason.
A period vacation could bring benefits
One point where period leave could bring an advantage for those affected: They could talk openly about their complaints and don’t have to come up with an excuse for their absence. Periods are still a taboo subject. The monthly bleeding is often associated with shame and disgust. It is often difficult to talk about it in the working world – and not only there. Red liquid has only been used in advertising for menstrual products since 2021. A menstrual vacation could further help to break the taboo on periods.
For many of those affected, such a legal regulation could make it easier not to work if they are feeling so bad because of their menstrual problems. Calling in sick because of the period is difficult for many menstruators, after all, the period is not an illness, not an infection. Probably most women prefer to drag themselves to work – pumped full of painkillers or sitting in front of the computer with a hot water bottle. But of course not all professional groups have the luxury of simply sitting in sweatpants and with warmth on the stomach in the home office. If there were a menstrual vacation, one or the other woman might take the day off instead of a dose of ibuprofen and relieve the abdominal cramps with warmth and a break on the sofa. And it could raise awareness that severe menstrual cramps don’t have to be endured. Because: Particularly severe pain or pain that interferes with everyday life every month should be clarified with the doctor. For example, very severe pain can indicate endometriosis.
The British gynecologist Dr. Gedis Grudzinskas already called for menstrual leave in 2015. “Some women feel really bad during menstruation. One to three paid days off per month would re-motivate women and increase productivity when they are at work.” The study from the Netherlands supports the statements of the gynaecologist: 80 percent of those surveyed feel less productive during their period and are unfocused. A day off could ensure that employees can access their full performance potential again the next day.
Only a few women use the days off in Japan
But such a period holiday could also have negative consequences for women. Activist Franka Frei fears that women would be even further disadvantaged in the labor market if companies had to give them menstrual leave. Even in the past, the introduction of periodic leave was not about women not having to work in pain. Russia, for example, wanted to secure the birth rate with such a regulation in the 20th century. The reason: Due to the harsh working conditions, many women missed their periods.
Some Asian countries have had period leave for a very long time, such as Japan since 1947. But many women see period leave as a potential threat to their careers, according to Alice J. Dan of the Center for Research on Women and Gender in Chicago. In an article in the journal Health Care for Women International, she shows that the number of women taking menstrual leave in Japan has been steadily declining, even though it has been around for so long. A Nikkei survey also shows that just ten percent of women actually take the vacation days they are entitled to. Almost half of the respondents did not want to raise this concern with their male manager. Many women also fear that not going to work because of their menstrual period will be interpreted as weakness, the British Guardian reported.
Sick leave because of the period
In Germany, such a menstrual leave would be difficult to implement anyway. On the one hand, there is the Equal Treatment Act in the world of work. Employees who are not entitled to menstrual leave, for example because they are men, could feel disadvantaged and sue. In addition, the health data of employees is particularly protected.
Labor lawyer Ilka Schmallenberg is also critical of periodic leave because it could lead to discrimination against menstruators. From her point of view, such special leave is not even necessary in Germany, because women who cannot work because of menstrual problems can take sick leave. This also has the advantage that employees do not have to state the exact reason for illness.
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Source: Stern
