Le Figaro Bordeaux
After the University of Angers in 2023, and at the same time as that of the Paul-Valéry University in Montpellier, it is the turn of the Bordeaux-Montaigne University to set up menstrual leave for its students from of the 2024 school year. A measure requested for a long time by several student organizations, finally adopted this Thursday, March 7 during a session of the training and university life committee, made up of teachers, students and members Staff.
It will therefore soon be possible for students to have ten days off (i.e. one per month throughout the academic year), and thus miss a day of classes without risking being penalized.
For the Bordeaux Student Union, it is a victory.
“With each menstrual cycle, the first days of periods can be extremely painful, to the point of preventing any form of movement
,” recalls the association.
“This can lead to “unjustified” absences from classes and exams, thus impacting students’ university studies.”
Read alsoMenstrual leave: the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region will put it in place for its employees
“A denial of women’s pain”
These ten days of absence should be usable on request, in order to
“allow each student to follow their studies with complete peace of mind, and in an inclusive and adapted framework”
.
The organization also specifies that this provision
“will be accessible indiscriminately to students, in order to allow trans people to benefit from it without having to go through a different process from other beneficiaries”
.
This menstrual leave should also be able to be carried out
“without complex administrative procedures”
.
At the University of Angers, the people concerned do not need to have a medical certificate.
In December 2023, Unef Bordeaux launched a petition to request the implementation of this menstrual leave, recalling that endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome
“affect 10% and 12% of menstruating people respectively”
.
According to them, the slowness of the diagnosis of these diseases is linked to
"the almost systematic minimization of the pain of menstruating people"
, which according to them is part
of "more broadly a denial of the pain of women and other gender minorities"
.
No word, however, on possible abuses linked to this new reason for absence.