The Fight Against Medical Misogyny Has A Long Way To Go | Letters

I invited nan relaunched women’s wellness strategy (Streeting relaunches women’s wellness strategy to tackle ‘medical misogyny’, 14 April) but pinch caution. The strategy appears responsive, but nan guidelines causes successful wellness inequality outcomes stay untouched.

It names urgent issues galore women person agelong experienced: navigating nan gynaecology referral queue that would agelong over 191 miles (if waiting successful person), medical gaslighting, delayed diagnoses and systemic bias.

However, Wes Streeting’s tenacity connected centering each women’s “voices”, and ensuring that nary female is near fighting to beryllium heard isn’t convincing, peculiarly erstwhile women of colour person been crying retired large for years, pinch small to nary alteration successful our reproductive wellness outcomes.

Many of america cognize what that feels like: seeing a GP astir terrible play symptom and trying to explicate really it disrupts our life. The expert says it’s normal and prescribes nan pill. Around 2 decades later, aft years of dismissal and gaslighting, that female receives a chronic information test that she knew she had each on – that female is maine and thousands of others.

Ethnicity, civilization and entree proceed to style who is believed, really quickly, and pinch what outcome. Without addressing this, we consequence reproducing nan aforesaid inequalities they purpose to solve. Femtech solutions tin beryllium innovative, but not inherently equitable if only definite groups aliases founders are funded. Policy tin thrust alteration depending connected who sits successful nan seat, and really they steer nan strategy into nan correct direction.

If Streeting is superior astir “hitting aesculapian misogyny wherever it hurts”, past he must admit that misogynoir is rife, and hurting taste number women. Creating systems that are inclusive and reflective of nan diverseness of women’s experiences is nan champion measurement forward.
Vanessa Haye
Chislehurst, Kent