In 2020, Aurélie, who did not want to reveal her name, wakes up blind from a summer night. This happens to her every now and then when she has her period. She loses her sight for a few hours and eventually regains it. This is one of the symptoms of “Disable dysmenorrhea”or painful period syndrome. At the time, Aurélie was a temporary worker, working at the reception desk of a museum in the middle of summer. For fear of being fired, she doesn’t dare stay away and asks her husband to accompany her to her workplace. “I was afraid of being hit by a car on the way” she trusts. Vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea… The symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea are very diverse.
“Equal opportunities cannot exist without special regulations for women with dysmenorrhea,” says Hélène Conway-Mouret. In April 2023, the socialist senator representing the French people was created outside France presented a bill aimed at this “Improve and ensure health and well-being in the workplace”. The text was considered on Thursday, February 15, in the plenary session of the Senate on the occasion of the parliamentary niche of socialists, ecologists and republicans and provides for regulations for the organization of telework for suffering women “Dysmenorrhea, including endometriosis” and the creation of a special break from work of a maximum of two days per month and a period of validity of one year. It would apply without a waiting day and could be claimed by anyone who benefits from one “Ordinance on interruption of work” Delivery by a doctor or midwife.
“This is a big step towards recognizing the suffering some women experience during their periodsgreets Maud Leblon from the Règles Elementaryes association. Especially for those who are most socially disadvantaged and cannot afford sick leave with waiting periods. » For the authors of the text, the implementation of this system is also a way to encourage employees in both the public and private sectors to begin medical follow-up care.
“Women have often given up care a long time ago”, assures Isabelle Derrendinger, President of the National Council of the Order of Midwives. To everyone who received an answer “It’s normal, it’s your period.”While they complained about stomach pains, Isabelle Derrendinger remembers: “No, thats not normal. Women should not experience their pain as an unforgiving fate. »
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