Committee publication · Report · 4 March 2026 · HC 1265
Easy Read – 12th Report – Menstrual health of girls and young women
From: Women and Equalities Committee
Inquiry: Reproductive health conditions: girls and young women
Government response deadline: 4 May 2026
Summary
An Easy Read summary of the Women and Equalities Committee's 12th Report on menstrual health of girls and young women. The Committee sets out eight priority areas where the Government should change its 10-year Women's Health Strategy: enhanced school education on menstrual health, public awareness campaigns, safe femtech development, staff training to address dismissal of menstrual complaints, equitable care for ethnic minorities and disabled women, integration with the 10-year Health Plan, increased funding for women's health hubs and Integrated Care Boards, and expansion of menstrual health research.
Key findings
- Schools should ensure all staff can support girls affected by periods; government should review funding for school nurses
- NHS website lacks sufficient information on women's health; NHS should link to period symptoms checkers and develop government strategy for public education
- NHS should develop its own femtech applications; government must prevent suppression of women's health information on social media
- Health staff dismissal of menstrual problems is widespread; government must train healthcare professionals to take menstrual complaints seriously
- Women from ethnic minorities, deaf women, and disabled women face systemic inequality in diagnosis and care; Integrated Care Boards need increased funding to expand women's health hubs and gynaecological services
Recommendations
- Teach more about women's health in schools, with all school staff trained to support girls affected by periods and government review of nurse funding
- Create government strategy to teach the public about women's health; place NHS link to Wellbeing of Women's period symptoms checker on NHS website
- NHS to develop its own safe femtech; government to stop information about women's health being banned on social media
- Train health staff to take women's menstrual problems seriously rather than dismissing them as normal
- Address racial bias and inequality in women's healthcare; ensure deaf, disabled, and ethnic minority women receive equitable diagnosis and treatment
- Link Women's Health Strategy to 10-year Health Plan for England; increase funding for women's health hubs to prevent closures and enable expansion
- Increase funding to Integrated Care Boards to support women's health hubs, reduce hospital waiting lists, and expand gynaecological care; publish detailed costings and timeline
- Develop clear research plan on menstrual health, focusing on causes and treatments
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Women and Equalities Committee, House of Commons, Government of the United Kingdom, NHS, Wellbeing of Women, Integrated Care Boards, Department of Health
Notable line
“… you do not think something is serious or important. When women say they are in lots of pain, they are sometimes told it is just a normal part of their period.”
Key Quotes
“… report showed that ● ● ● ● ● health experts do not always give women the right help. women's health problems are ignored and get worse over time.”
“… you do not think something is serious or important. When women say they are in lots of pain, they are sometimes told it is just a normal part of their period.”
“Women's health hubs do not get much funding. This means some or all women's health hubs might shut. This would be very bad for all women and their health.”
“The Government did not think enough about how some Femtech can be bad and dangerous for women. The NHS need to make their own Femtech so women stop using dangerous apps.”
“Not all women are treated equally when they try to get help for their health. Women from some ethnic groups are more likely to have menstrual problems and be dismissed by health experts.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗