Menstruation - What should the Movement be doing?
Before we go any further with this blog, menstruation is pronounced "mens-true-ation", not "mens-tration". If we can't pronounce it properly, we surely can't begin to understand it!
Now that that is out of the way, let's talk about why you should care?
Quite simply, because the vast majority of people in our Movement are menstruating right now, and I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of them are experiencing some challenges as a result that may be interfering with their quality of life, and their ability to devote their full time and attention to their work.
So, what is menstruation?
To give a really basic explanation, menstruation, often referred to as a period, occurs every 28 days or so for about half of the population of the Earth. Having a period is part of the process of preparing the body for pregnancy, where an egg that lives in one of two ovaries, matures and becomes ready for fertilization, it travels down one of two fallopian tubes towards the uterus. If the egg is not fertilized, blood and other tissue from a person's uterus comes out of their vagina, a process usually lasing several days.
The majority of folks who have a period identify as women, though trans folks and non-women may also have ovaries, fallopian tubes, a uterus and a vagina, and as such, will also get their periods.
Periods begin at some point during puberty and end either as a result of some sort of medical intervention or at menopause. For regular readers, you'll recall that I wrote a recent blog on menopause.
Importantly, the process of menstruation is very complicated, and I certainly did not provide anything more than a cursory explanation. I also want to be clear that I have no medical training whatsoever. Instead, I have 40 years of experience getting my period, which included countless problems over that time, in part because I have an inverted uterus (yup, that's a thing!) and uterine fibroids.
Before I jump into why this is important for our Movement to understand, and how organizations in our Movement should be recognizing and supporting menstruating people, I will expand on is the plethora of problems that can occur related to menstruation.
Here a just a few menstrual disorders, copied from this website:
Primary dysmenorrhea. Cramping pain caused by menstruation. The cramps occur from contractions in the uterus and are usually more severe during heavy bleeding.
Secondary dysmenorrhea. Menstrual-related pain that accompanies another medical or physical condition, such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids.
Premenstrual syndrome refers to physical and psychological symptoms occurring prior to menstruation.
Menorrhagia is heavy bleeding, including prolonged menstrual periods or excessive bleeding during a normal-length period.
Metrorrhagia is bleeding at irregular intervals, particularly between expected menstrual periods.
Menometrorrhagia. Refers to heavy and prolonged bleeding that occurs at irregular intervals. Menometrorrhagia combines features of menorrhagia and metrorrhagia. The bleeding can occur at the time of menstruation (like menorrhagia) or in between periods (like metrorrhagia).
Dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB). A general term for abnormal uterine bleeding that usually refers to extra or excessive bleeding caused by hormonal problems, usually lack of ovulation (anovulation). DUB tends to occurs either when girls begin to menstruate or when women approach menopause, but it can occur at any time during a woman's reproductive life. This term is not often used by most gynecologists.
Other types of abnormal uterine bleeding. Include bleeding after sex and bleeding after menopause. Postmenopausal bleeding is not normal and can be a sign of a serious condition.
Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation.
Oligomenorrhea refers to infrequent menstrual periods.
Hypomenorrhea refers to light periods.
And that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Even after over 40 years of talking to other women about their experiences with their periods, I am constantly learning about new challenges associated with this process.
So, what should the Movement be doing?
Until we do everything we can to support the well-being of the majority of the people doing the hard work for animals, we will never truly create a sustainable Movement, and we will never achieve animal liberation.
So I was absolutely elated to read this recent headline on February 16, 2023 Spanish lawmakers give final approval to Europe's first 'menstrual leave' law.
Spain became the first European country to provide paid menstrual leave, where the leave would be financially supported by the state social security system. The article also noted that this leave is currently also offered in Japan, Indonesia, and Zambia.
While I could write about how this is a long time in coming, and how it should be mandatory all over the world, instead I will suggest that in a political climate such as in the United States, where Roe v. Wade has been overturned, it is unlikely that such a leave will be state funded anytime soon.
Instead, it is incumbent on each leader and each human resources professional in each of the organizations in our Movement to implement such a leave.
This blog is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice or opinions of any kind. No one should act, or refrain from acting, based solely upon the materials provided on this website, any hypertext links or other general information without first seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice.
The intention of this blog is to promote the longevity and engagement level of the activist community within the Animal Advocacy Movement (AAM). The majority of the advice will be geared towards employees within the AAM in Canada and the United States, but may be applicable to other countries.
Krista is the Executive Director of For The Greater Good where she consults with animal protection organizations on matters of organizational development, strategic planning, and board governance. Krista serves on several boards including One Protest, The Rancher Advocacy Program, Egg-Truth, and Dairy-Truth. Krista previously served as the VP of Mercy For Animals in Canada, and the President of the Board for Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary.
Krista holds a doctorate in social sciences where her research focused on the employment experiences of animal rights activists in Canada and the United States. She also holds five additional degrees in human resources, including a master’s degree in organizational development and leadership. Krista is Associate Faculty for her alma matter, Royal Roads University, is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Critical Animal Studies, and an Animals & Society Research Initiative Scholar.
Formerly, Krista founded a boutique employment and labour law firm in Toronto, and before that she spent fifteen years in HR including as the vice president of HR for one of the largest software companies in the world.