Wednesday, 5 March 2025

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (09:55): March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. It is estimated that one in seven women, and those assigned female at birth, live with endometriosis. That is nearly 1 million Australians, some of whom are in my own office. On average it takes six to eight years from the onset of symptoms to receive a diagnosis. The median time for surgical intervention highlights a critical issue: many women are waiting far too long. Surgery remains an essential diagnostic step for those with endometriosis, and the diagnosis itself can be a form of validation for women who have endured years of unexplained suffering. Women are commonly having more than one surgical intervention before endo can be diagnosed. Research from Western Sydney University reveals that one in six individuals with endometriosis will lose her job due to managing the disease and 70 per cent are forced to take unpaid time off work to cope with symptoms. Endo is far from a bad period, as many men would have us believe. It perpetuates a stigma and total dismissal of women’s pain that has existed for as long as we can remember. Endo is a scientifically recognised medical condition and chronic disease that affects more people than diabetes. It has been found in every major organ in the body and, as well as severe pain, can cause fatigue, poor mental health and infertility – and if Marty Sheargold wants to say otherwise, I have to say to him that I have got a spare hammer.