Spain creates history with the approval of paid menstrual leave. Here is everything you need to know about the new law.
What is Spain’s new menstrual leave all about?
On Thursday, lawmakers in Spain created history by giving the final nod for paid medical menstrual leave. Women suffering from severe period pain can now claim leave. Moreover, it is the first nation in the European Union to approve such a legislature. This is going to allow workers experiencing pain to take as much time as needed. Instead of employers, the state’s social security system is going to pick up the tabs. The authorization requires a note of temporary medical incapacity by the doctor. However, the length of the leave is currently not specified.
“It is a historic day for feminist progress,” tweeted Irene Montero, before the vote. Montero is the nation’s Equality Minister. As per a study by the Spanish Gynaecology and Obstetrics Society, about one in every three menstruating women suffer from extreme pain.
More on the new law
While the law has a lot of supporting opinions, some believe otherwise. According to UGT, one of the nation’s largest unions, this may stigmatize women in the workforce. It might make companies start favoring men for posts. Additionally, the main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP), warned the same. Menstrual leave may have “negative consequences in the labor market,” it warned.
Moreover, the new law is one of the government’s key measures in its broader law providing more access to abortion in Spain’s public hospitals. Currently, due to doctors’ conscientious objects, less than 15 percent of procedures take place in public hospitals. However, this law will also allow minors over the age of 16 or 17 to have abortions without parental permission. Hence reversing the previous conservative government’s rule from 2015.