In Anita Diamant’s 1977 novel, The Red Tent, ancient law commanded tribal women to take refuge while menstruating or giving birth in (you guessed it) a red tent. In workplaces across America, modern-day women could soon seek refuge from painful, crippling periods with the increasing implementation of Rent Tent-esque “period policies,” which allow people with periods to take time to recover and cozy up to a hot water bottle, a chocolate bar, and a metric ton of Midol.
Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, and parts of China have menstrual pain plans, and Japan has had a policy in place since 1947. Last week, Coexist, a social enterprise company in England, announced a new menstrual policy, fighting back against the shame and taboo associated with periods, and sparking an international conversation: Should period pain merit extra sick time in offices?
“I don’t think that’s the right way to go about it,” Medical Ethicist Art Caplan said in an interview with Boston Public Radio Wednesday. “What’s got to happen here is, we need to have better sick leave, and you take it for whatever reasons you need to take it.”
Sick time, Caplan argues, should be more generously given, and less personalized. “I don’t think we need to get into the [reasons] of it, or at least that ought to be done with your HR department, or whoever is running your benefits, but no, I don’t think we need to add a specific time off for menstruation. I think most women do just fine at work doing those intervals, and I think also, what it’s telling us is better sick leave for all.”
Medical Ethicist Art Caplan is Head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center and the co-host of the Everyday Ethics podcast. To hear more of his interview with BPR, click on the audio link above.
