End Medical Misogyny: A Mumsnet campaign

For years, women on Mumsnet have described the same experience in the health service: pain minimised, symptoms blamed on stress or hormones, repeated appointments before anyone takes them seriously. Our latest survey and ten-year analysis show these patterns are persistent and rising into the 2020s

The systemic dismissal, disbelief or de-prioritisation of women’s symptoms in healthcare has a name: medical misogyny.

We’re fighting to end it.

Why we’re taking action

We asked Mumsnet users about their experiences of NHS care. The results are stark:

• 58% of them agree the NHS is institutionally misogynistic

• 68% say the NHS does not take women’s health concerns seriously

• 50% say they have been dismissed, ignored or not believed by an NHS professional because they are a woman

• 65% feel their symptoms are taken less seriously for the same reason

• 79% worry their symptoms will be written off as stress, hormones or anxiety

• 64% say they have been explicitly told their pain or symptoms were “normal” or “in their head”

• 70% say they must be more assertive than a man would need to be to receive the same level of attention

What needs to change

We’re calling on the government to:

Make comprehensive training in women’s health and sex-specific medicine mandatory for healthcare professionals

This should include the recognition and management of common female-specific conditions, improved understanding of how women present with pain and cardiovascular symptoms, and explicit training on avoiding psychologisation and minimisation.

Provide ring-fenced national funding to ensure Women’s Health Hubs are fully established and accessible across England

Women’s Health Hubs must move from nominal establishment to full, accountable delivery. Government modelling indicates strong value for money - £5 in benefits for every £1 invested, rising to £13 in best-case scenarios - yet implementation remains uneven. Ringfenced funding, clear delivery standards and transparent accountability would create visible, measurable infrastructure focused on timely, joined-up and sex-specific care.

End the routine normalisation of women’s pain in NHS care

This should include particular attention to how pain is managed and discussed during intimate and reproductive procedures, ensuring women are listened to and treated with dignity. No woman should be expected to tolerate avoidable pain as the price of treatment.