Concerned Father Launches Petition For Period Pain To Be Listed As Legitimate Reason To Skip School

Cornwall, UK: A concerned father is urging the Department of Education to recognize period aches as a strong reason for missing school.

Marcus Alleyne has collected nearly 35,000 signatures on his petition to treat period pain (dysmenorrhoea) just like any other health issue after he found out that his 13-year-old daughter Izzy was not allowed to skip school for suffering from deep menstrual pain.

Izzy’s dad, a father of three, realized that something was wrong a couple of weeks ago when she was left “doubled over in pain,” unable to sleep and feeling horrible as a consequence of period pain.

“We didn’t feel it was right or appropriate to send her into school,” Marcus said.

But when he got in touch with the school to inform them of Izzy’s pain, he was left stunned…

“The school asked if it was due to period pains, and I said yes… and the school’s response was that it would be recorded as an unauthorised absence,” Marcus told Sky News. “We had the notion that if it was any other illness or condition it would have been documented as an illness rather than an unauthorised absence.”

And while Marcus is aware that this is something all women are having to deal with in life, he said that the school’s indifference to period pain is something that needs to be addressed.

'We didn't feel as parents it was right to send her in'

Marcus Alleyne is fighting to allow period pain to be recorded as a legitimate reason to be absent from school, after he was told his 13-year-old daughter would be marked as ‘unauthorised absence’https://t.co/7OFMVzpv73 pic.twitter.com/LMoQY6kYKA

— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 4, 2021

In an interview with ITV, he said:

“We need to make significant changes not only to the institutions responsible for nurturing our young women and future female leaders but also need to educate the prehistoric mindsets of the policy creators and decision-makers.

I think some people have been particularly encouraged that it’s a dad standing up for young women, but I think that’s only because of the way we’ve been fed – that it’s only a ‘woman’s problem,’ but it’s not, it’s a social problem.”

Marcus’ petition was signed by a number of parents and students who shared their own similar experiences of having no choice but to endure the pain at work or at school.

If you wish to sign the petition, you can do so by clicking here.

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