By Mikayla van Loon
The known and often widely felt disparity in female-centred healthcare will now be addressed in Victoria with an Australian-first inquiry into the ‘pain gap’.
Premier Jacinta Allan announced the landmark Inquiry into Women’s Pain on Monday 22 January after results from an initial survey confirmed that nearly 50 per cent of women experience difficulties with periods, pregnancy, birth and postnatal care, or conditions like endometriosis, as well as other chronic diagnosis.
Women, health practitioners and organisations across the east will now get to have their say from 30 January until mid-2024 before a final report is released at the end of the year.
Women’s Health East (WHE), the leading health advocacy and promotion agency for the Yarra Ranges, Knox, Maroondah, Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse and Boroondara, welcomed the somewhat revolutionary announcement.
“Women’s Health East commends the Victorian State Government on a national leading inquiry into women’s pain, which will explore the systemic issues women face when seeking care and support for pain,” WHE chief executive officer Elly Taylor said.
“By centring women and girls’ lived experiences at the heart of this inquiry, we will better understand where our prevention and healthcare service systems need innovation, transformation and investment to improve health literacy, access and care, and reduce stigma and shame that is often associated with many of the health conditions that cause women and girls’ chronic pain.”
The inquiry intends to engage with women and girls over the age of 12 with lived experiences of pain to understand the medical gender bias, treatment pathways, barriers to accessing care, improvements required and workforce opportunities.
Ms Taylor said it is not uncommon for WHE to hear of the hardships women face when trying to access treatment or care.
“[We] hear from women from a range of diverse backgrounds that the medical gender bias often leads to their pain not being recognised or appropriately treated by healthcare professionals and the healthcare service system,” she said.
“Women’s sexual and reproductive health remains a highly gendered and stigmatised area of healthcare.”
The Listening to Women’s Voices survey found that one in three women had an experience of dealing with insensitive and disrespectful practitioners who left them feeling dismissed and unheard.
It is Ms Taylor’s hope this inquiry will provide an opportunity to “redesign” female healthcare so it is “women-centred, culturally safe, and inclusive”.
“We know that there is a strong need to focus on place-based prevention initiatives that promote wellbeing and that prevent ill health before it occurs,” she said.
“This inquiry is a critical step to better supporting people’s ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive health rights.”
The pain gap also exists in gaining appropriate pain relief and treatment in other health concerns relating to cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive, and autoimmune conditions.
“It’s time we stopped treating women’s health like some kind of niche issue. We deserve to have our pain believed and relieved,” Premier Allan said.
The inquiry will be led by a panel of experts and overseen by the Women’s Health Advisory Council.
