Spain to become the first in Europe to introduce ‘menstrual leave’

Spain could become the first Western country to allow women to take several days of “menstrual leave” from the workplace each month under new proposed legislation to be unveiled next week.

The Spanish government is expected to approve the measure as part of a broader draft bill on reproductive health and abortion rights, details of which are expected to be disclosed on Tuesday, according to national media.

The proposed law would introduce at least three sick days each month for women who suffer from severe period pains, according to El Pais newspaper.

The newspaper reports that this “medically supervised leave” could even be extended to five days for women with disabling periods who suffer severe cramps, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. 

Worldwide, menstrual leave is currently offered only in a small number of countries including Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Zambia.

According to the Spanish Gynaecology and Obstetrics Society, around a third of women who menstruate suffer from severe pain known as dysmenorrhea. 

Symptoms include acute abdominal pain, diarrhoea, headaches and fever.

“When the problem cannot be solved medically, we think it is very sensible that there should be temporary incapacity associated with this issue,” Ángela Rodríguez, Spain’s Secretary of State for Equality and against Gender Violence, told El Periodico newspaper in a recent interview. 

“It is important to clarify what a painful period is, we are not talking about a slight discomfort, but about serious symptoms such as diarrhoea, severe headaches, fever,” she added.

The draft law would also lower VAT on feminine hygiene products in shops and make period products available for free in schools and educational centres.

According to El Pais, it would make menstrual health part of Spaniards’ right to health, and it specifies that “stereotypes and myths about menstruation that still exist and that hinder women’s lives will be combated”.

The health bill would also guarantee the right to seek an abortion for free in the country’s public healthcare system and scrap the requirement for 16 and 17-year-olds to obtain parental consent for the procedure.