Breaking the menopause taboo

Women live an average of 30 years after menopause. Normalising menopause as a life event requires greater research, investment and cultural acceptance.

By 2025, 1.1. billion women globally will be perimenopausal.

Australia is releasing a Senate inquiry report on September 17 on issues relating to menopause and perimenopause. A just-released study on menopause timing and cancer risks sheds new light on the consequences of early-onset menopause.

However, menopause remains taboo and shrouded in misinformation, even in developed economies, through its association with ageing and infertility and lack of recognition by health professionals.

One such myth is catastrophic perceptions around women’s mental health during menopause such as invocations of “damage, despair and death”. Such outdated messaging without scientific backing further stigmatises women and can be countered by centering women’s voices and responsive clinical care.

Women’s experiences of menopause vary greatly across cultural contexts. Women from lower socio-economic backgrounds in India often experience menopause as “liberation” from the distress of managing menstruation, which comes with its share of stigma and discrimination, especially in contexts driven by patriarchal gender norms.

Indonesian healthcare professionals have devised new models of empowerment for menopausal women by creating preventive, long-term health strategies that advocate lifestyle changes, symptom management and self-efficacy to maintain their overall quality of life and lead full, productive lives.

Women live an average of 30 years after attaining menopause. Debunking menopause myths and normalising menopause as a life event requires greater research, investment and cultural acceptance.

Most importantly, it requires centralising women’s voices and producing a more compassionate view of menopause that creates the conditions for women to thrive and lead their best lives.