Spain Has Introduced Paid Menstruation Leave as Part of a Package of Feminist Rights

Spain has become the first European country to introduce paid menstruation leave for all uterus-having citizens as part of an extensive package of feminist and pro-trans legislation.

How bloody good, if you’ll excuse my terrible pun.

Last week’s vote in Spain’s parliament introduces up to five days of menstrual leave for employees who have incapacitating periods. According to the Spanish Gynaecological and Obstetric Society, a third of women experience dysmenorrhoea, the official term for extremely painful menstruation.

Other aspects of the package include the provision of free sanitary products in schools, prisons and women’s centres to tackle “period poverty”.

In addition to these amazing policies, people over 16 can now change their legal gender, anyone 16 or older can access abortion, and conversion therapy is now illegal in Spain. Plus, the country has ended its three-day “reflection period” for abortions and banned public subsidies for organisations that promote “incite or promote LGBTIphobia.”

Anyone else considering a move to sunny Spain?

There have been growing calls for similar menstrual leave legislation to be introduced here in Australia, with a proposal that would give employees who have painful periods or menopause symptoms one day a month or 12 days a year of paid leave — similar to the family and domestic violence leave policy.

Unions and legal representatives are still in the early stages of enacting the proposal, with a group of Australian unions backed by a law firm pushing for the policy to be introduced into the Fair Work Act.

This would mean those suffering from endometriosis, menopause, dysmenorrhoea and other symptoms could be given paid time off each month without needing a doctor’s certificate as proof.

It seems that the lack of understanding about how menstrual issues impact those with female anatomy in the workplace is slowly changing course for the better.

About bloody time, we say!