Given the fact that there are women all around the globe who are taken out of school and forced to give up their education because of their period and its symptoms, it feels cruel bringing up the need for a leave of absence for menstruating women here in the United States. However, two things can be true at once, and in this case, they are. Schools should have ample period supplies to ensure that a woman’s education is not obstructed and employers should understand the need for one day of personal time off (PTO) should a woman choose to take it, when a woman is menstruating.
The most common period symptoms are cramps, nausea, backaches, diarrhea, fatigue, joint pain and headaches. However, every woman has a unique experience during her cycle. While some experience no symptoms at all, others are overcome with unbearable pain and nausea, unable to stand or speak, often weak from vomiting. Expecting women to suffer through agonizing pain and extreme discomfort and then continue to produce at a high level is nothing short of barbaric.
Although other counties have adopted menstrual leave, the US has yet to follow suit, at least on a federal level. A survey taken of 600 Americans in the “Health Care for Women International Journal” showed that about half of the respondents believed that menstrual leave would have negative effects. Some thought that people would take advantage of it and others felt it was simply unnecessary, stating that sick days serve the same purpose when in fact they do not. A menstrual cycle is recurring and something not everyone has to deal with therefore it wouldn’t be fair for women to use up their sick days for something that is bound to happen at least 12 times a year.
Providing menstrual leave for the women in the workplace is not an act of charity, it’s something that should have been implemented the moment it was brought to attention. 20% of women suffer from period symptoms so extreme they can’t get through their regular day. That is more than enough reason to accommodate.