3-day Work Permit For “painful Menstruation”. Would You Agree?

The controversy is formed. The Italian parliament debated at the end of the month opening the proposal to grant three days off per month to women suffering from painful menstruation.

Even though it’s surprising, this idea is not new.

• In Japan, for example, this license has existed since 1947.
• In Argentina, in turn, there is also the opportunity to have one day of voluntary leave per month for the woman who needs it, even if only in some companies and in certain sectors of work.

However, for a few months this news has become very current in several European countries, such as the UK.

There, in order to give the appearance of openness, integration and progress,  some companies have already included this right in their internal policies.

It is possible that many of our readers already have an opinion on this subject. Is it appropriate to give women a few days’ leave if they suffer from a painful menstrual period?

There are sectors of our society that are very supportive of the issue, but there are also detractors on the other hand, who do not see very well the fact that women can take these days a month.

Today in our space we want to give you more data on this interesting issue. Follow us!

Work leave due to painful menstruation: data in favor

Painful menstruation and its invisibility

Each woman is a world and has its own characteristics in her menstruation. There are some that go through the menstrual period without excessive discomfort.

• There are those that can relieve pain with some painkiller or another. However, a percentage of them experience menstruation with symptoms as intense as debilitating.

• Gynecologists remind us that painful periods can be of two types: a primary, where the cause is not known, and a secondary, where there is a specific problem such as endometriosis.
• A woman with a painful period sleeps poorly, suffers from migraines, dysphoric syndrome (mood changes) and, above all, a pain that casts itself as the only protagonist for a few days.
• A person with this picture of symptoms is someone who cannot yield 100%, and if he does, he is under the influence of strong medication that does not always work.

Recognizing this reality is, according to different sectors, a way of fighting for equality at work.

Initiatives such as the proposal in Italy are also a way to raise awareness about this problem.

Menstruation leave from work: opposing voices

Menstruation should not be seen as a disease

Curious as it seems to us, most of the opposition to this proposal to grant between 1 and 3 days of leave for painful menstruation is the women themselves.

• The main arguments they defend are that, in case this regulation is applied, everyone will end up seeing menstruation not as something natural, but as a disease.
• In turn, it is feared that the existence of these licenses will serve as an excuse for many companies not to hire women because they involve a cost, because it will not pay for anyone to have an employee who is absent every month on certain days.

• On the other hand, one sees with fear the way this law is articulated, this discharge or leave is defined as “discharge due to indisposition”.

This can be very stigmatizing as it conveys an image of weakness, of “unwillingness” by these women when, in reality, it is not a disease as such.

At a time when women are making their way into our society, this type of license is viewed with trepidation in many feminist groups that seek, above all, to work on equal terms.

The need to take action

Italy wanted to open the debate at the end of April due to a very concrete fact: women who suffer from dysmenorrhea are continuously leaving work.

It is a reality, it is not a form of discrimination nor is it intended to put labels on it. What they wanted to articulate is some mechanism with which, with proper respect and taking care of the terms, a kind of solution can be sought.

Possible proposals

Painful menstruation is disabling, this is a self-evident reality  that you don’t have to turn your face to.

• The ideal would be, without a doubt, to have an adequate diagnosis of the cause of this intense pain and to know, in addition, through a sanitary, pharmacological or strategic approach, if a better quality of life could be achieved.
• In turn, the possibility of having a few days off per month is adequate.

However, as in Japan,  every woman is free to use it or not.

• There will be months when it will be necessary to have a day, because your body is not responding, because it is almost impossible to be able to do the work.

But there will be months when you can be productive and you don’t need that license.

As we said, each woman lives her menstruation in a way, and the simple fact of making this reality known is an advance.