Spanish women to get time off work if they suffer from painful periods

Women in Spain will be offered up to three days of menstrual leave to deal with painful periods.

Legislation is expected to passed next week, making Spain the first country in Europe to offer such support, joining other countries in the world like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Zambia.

It comes after research from the Spanish Gynaecology and Obstetrics Society revealed that around one-third of women who menstruate suffer from dysmenorrhea, resulting in painful periods with other symptoms like diarrhoea, severe headaches and fever.

And a survey by the charity Bloody Good Period suggested that 73 percent of women struggle with work when menstruating.

The Spanish Secretary of State for Equality and Against Gender Violence, Ángela Rodríguez, told El Periodico that the statistics from similar studies were "unacceptable".

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

She said: "This is unacceptable and should make doctors and society reflect. When the problem cannot be solved medically, we believe that it is very sensible that there is a temporary disability associated with this issue.

"Symptoms that when there is a disease that entails them, a temporary disability is granted. Therefore the same should happen with menstruation, and that there is the possibility that if a woman has a very painful period, she can stay home."

Spain will also make schools provide sanitary products for girls who need them. Meanwhile, VAT from the sale of pads and tampons will also be removed in supermarkets.

Sounds like a good plan to us.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.