Calls for period pain to be taken more seriously in the workplace

Period cramp simulators are giving men around the world a taste of how debilitating menstrual cramps can be - and it’s sparking conversations here in New Zealand.

Taking menstrual simulators to malls and colleges around India’s southern state of Kerala, the #feelthepain campaign is part of a project called the Cup of Life, aiming to combat the shame attached to periods.

“When it gets too painful men can say stop and the machine stops, for a woman it doesn't stop,” coordinator of the Cup of Life campaign Dr Akhil Manuel told 1News.

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He said in many parts of India, people who have their period are seen as “impure” and are kept away from social and religious events.

However, the Cup of Life project is starting to change the conversation.

“The reaction has been amazing. Girlfriends push their boyfriends to get a feel, so they can know how much they go through every month,” he said.

Chief Executive of a Kiwi period product company, Robyn McLean, said she is “all for” helping more people understand the impact periods can have.

“I would really like businesses to be more understanding of the issue,” said the Hello Cup co-founder.

“Period pain is absolutely debilitating for a lot of people, especially people who have endometriosis,” she said.

“It’s about understanding the impacts periods have on people and I say the same thing about menopause.”

She has been offering her staff five days off a year on top of regular sick leave under a “duvet policy”, allowing all employees to take a day off where they need it, “no questions asked.”

“It's not just for people who have periods because not all our staff have periods,” she said, adding the policy also covers people who are going through menopause, or who simply need a break.

While she believes New Zealand has come a long way since the Hello Cup was launched in 2017, she said more needs to happen to normalise periods.

“I do think that we need to have a set curriculum around periods in schools and I think that both sexes need to be educated around periods,” she told 1News.