'Medical misogyny' leaving girls and women in pain, report says

Women and girls are enduring years of pain because their reproductive conditions are being dismissed owing to "medical misogyny", according to a damning parliamentary report.

- Tobi Thomas

The report, by the women and equalities committee, found that gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis and adenomyosis are treated with inadequate care because of a "pervasive stigma", a lack of education by healthcare professionals and "medical misogyny".

The committee, which set out to examine the experiences of care that women with reproductive conditions get in England, found that symptoms are often "normalised" and it can take years for women to get a diagnosis and care. The substandard gynaecological care cited by the report also includes routine IUD contraceptive fittings, cervical screenings, and hysteroscopies.

The report said women were being left in pain and discomfort that "interferes with every aspect of their daily lives", including their education, careers, relationships and fertility, while their conditions worsen.