In Amélie’s testimony, as in that of many of our readers who recount the difficulties of suffering from painful periods at work, the word “silence” comes up most often. “During meetings in front of a public or various interlocutors, one must suffer in silence. We must also invent parades with colleagues, ”adds the young woman. For all of them, it is a question of avoiding moments of embarrassment when the subject is broached.
Fortunately, in a way, working from home made it possible to spend this moment with a little more peace of mind. Like Marion who has the advantage of having a certain autonomy in her schedule: “Which allows me when I had to live several days with acute and tense pain to take leave and work at home” , she says. But this is obviously not the case for all women.
“I shave the walls”
Chantal is a school teacher and she admits her anxiety: “I’m anxious just thinking regarding the day when the period will arrive. And to add: “It’s difficult to concentrate with the students, to ensure the day as if nothing had happened…”. Added to this is the difficulty of not being able to talk regarding it. Silence, always: “None of my colleagues or superiors are aware, I’m ashamed to mention this problem…”, deplores another reader, Aurélie, who has abundant and painful periods.
“I can’t take the positions that relieve me, nor use my hot water bottle to soothe the pain… And what regarding going back and forth to the toilet every two hours to change my towel without anyone seeing me, without making a noise, I shave the walls…” Chantal is even considering changing jobs because her body no longer follows and “being absent every month when you’re a teacher is not possible. When I saw that Spain had voted for menstrual leave, it gave me some hope! »
Menstrual leave, the solution?
Indeed, Spain recently passed a law to create menstrual leave for women with painful periods. In France, the question is hardly put on the table. But what do the main stakeholders think of this option? For Aurélie, it’s not so obvious: “I would feel a lot of guilt towards my other colleagues and I wouldn’t want to be considered as the lazy person on duty who has her two days off a month…”
The problem is deeper according to Marion who sees in this solution “the effect of a bandage”. For her, we must go further: “What effectiveness can we expect from such a measure when a woman cannot speak without taboo regarding the consequences of her menstruation in the professional context? she wonders. If I can’t tell my boss that I’m not well because of my period without fear of judgment, why would I ask him for special leave that announces without transparency the reason? »
For her part, Amélie has a much more decided opinion on the question: “Long live menstrual leave! And she blesses the day when women should no longer hide to talk regarding it. The end of the silence on an essential subject.