Most Women Who Suffer From Painful Periods Hesitate To Take Time Off Work

Sex toy brand Womanizer conducted a survey, taken by 470 women from 26 countries, to find out why menstruators hesitate to call in sick to work.

According to its findings, 52 percent agree that it is not socially accepted, while 47 percent think that their employers will find period pain as an invalid reason to call in sick to work. Hong Kong-based sexologist Sara Tang commented on the issue: "In Hong Kong, the reason why menstruators don’t call in sick is mainly cultural. Women fear that taking it could lead to discrimination by their employers, and create other barriers for them within the workplace."

97 percent of respondents have also indicated that menstrual leave has never been discussed by their employer. "It is not surprising then that 86 percent of these employers do not offer menstrual leave," Womanizer stated. "Menstruation is still a taboo in many people’s minds," founder and director of Happeriod Zoe Chan shared. "Some people who menstruate will even think that it is not okay to express 'weakness' during [their] period. We found that some people will not take leave for menstruation because it is hard to prove if they are not going to get medical proof."

With that being said, the majority of those who took the survey are open to the idea of taking extra days off if they are suffering from menstrual pain. Meanwhile, most agree that companies willing to offer menstrual leave would create a safe workplace for all.

In other health-related news, new data has found that the "masturbation gap" is beginning to close.

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