Menstrual hygiene: these countries which already grant leave in the event of painful periods

A phenomenon as normal as it is natural, menstruation, in other words menstruation, has long been considered a taboo subject. It is only in June 2022 that the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed that “menstrual health is recognized, framed and treated as a health and human rights issue, not as a hygiene issue”. A big step for women, who now see this problem addressed in a new light, and particularly in the context of work, because of the impact of painful periods on physical and mental health.

In 2021, a study carried out by Ifop* for Intimina revealed that nearly one in two women suffers from painful menstruation, and more than eight out of ten claim to experience psychological discomfort such as fatigue, irritability, and or a feeling of ill-being – to their body. Factors that can be socially and professionally excluding, as shown by a more recent survey** conducted in the UK, also by the Intimina brand, indicating that a significant proportion of British women have already felt the need to take time off to deal with painful periods. Still not integrated into the labor code, whether in France or the United Kingdom, menstrual leave is nevertheless already in place in several countries. Overview.

Asia, one step ahead

“Seiri kyuka”, meaning menstrual leave in Japanese, was introduced into the labor code of the land of the rising sun in 1947, so just 76 years ago. We will understand, the Japan is a pioneer in this area, especially since this device was demanded by the unions since the 1920s, but nothing obliges Japanese companies to remunerate this leave. The latter must only respect the requests of women for whom work is particularly difficult during periods of menstruation. In fact, only 30% of companies offer full or partial reimbursement of this leave, according to a study carried out in 2020 by the Japanese Ministry of Labor among 6,000 companies, relayed by AFP. And only 0.9% of women who could obtain this leave said they had taken it. A more recent surveythis time carried out in 2021 by Nikkei BP Intelligence Group among 1,956 active women aged 18 to 49, revealed that less than 10% of respondents took this menstrual leave, and that more than half of them reported A “lack of understanding of menstruation in their workplace”.

Indonesia is the second country to introduce menstrual leave into its labor code, in 1948, but the law was changed just twenty years ago. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), working women “are entitled to two days of paid leave for the first and second day of their menstrual cycle”. But in practice, Indonesian women have to negotiate these days off, which actually depends on each company. “Many employers only give one day a month, others don’t give any menstrual leave,” says the ILO. In Korea from SouthArticle 71 of the Korea Labor Standards Law stipulates that employed women can take one day off for menstrual periods per month. “This article came into effect in 2001, but many employees still do not know what it means”, reported in 2012 The Korea Times. It should also be noted that this leave is unpaid. AT Taiwan, the Act of Gender Equality in Employment from 2014 grants women three days of menstrual leave per year, which are not deducted from ‘classic’ sick leave. Beyond three days, they are “counted in sick leave days”. The employees concerned, however, only receive 50% of their salary.

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Africa and Europe lagging behind

There Zambia is a pioneer in Africa in terms of menstrual leave. Since 2015, the country has allowed women to take an additional day off per month in the event of painful periods, without the need to provide a medical certificate or notice. To date, Zambia remains the only African country to offer such a system. And this is also the case in Europe with spain, which in February 2023 passed a bill to introduce menstrual leave to allow women to cope with painful periods. To date, the duration of the leave has not been confirmed, but it will be covered by social security. This is a European first which could pave the way for the implementation of other systems of this type elsewhere on the Old Continent, such as in France, for example, where the subject is currently being debated.

It is important to note that if these six countries are currently the only ones to have introduced menstrual leave in their labor code, companies around the world have chosen to grant this specific leave to their employees. In France, this was the case from 2021 with the Montpellier company La Collective, recently joined by the retail giant Carrefour, which does not offer menstrual leave strictly speaking but additional leave for women suffering from endometriosis. Saint-Ouen, for its part, became the first French city last March to introduce menstrual leave for its agents. “This leave is intended for women suffering from painful and incapacitating menstruation as well as endometriosis”, said Karim Bouamranethe mayor of the town.

*The study was carried out online, between April 17 and 28, 2021, with a sample of 1,010 women, representative of the French female population aged 15 to 49.

**The survey was conducted by Censuswide in March 2023 among 1,017 women in the UK.