The government’s commitment to tackling ‘medical misogyny’ must be backed by adequate funding, the chair of a parliamentary committee has warned.
The chair of the Women and Equalities Committee Sarah Owen said that while she welcomed a focus on tackling ‘medical misogyny’ in the revised women’s health strategy, there needed to be more than ‘financial half measures’.
Ms Owen said: ‘While it’s welcome to see a focus on tackling “medical misogyny” in April’s renewed women’s health strategy and an emphasis on women’s voices being heard, this must be backed by adequate funding, not financial half measures, particularly when compared to men’s health.’
Her comments come as the government last week published its response to the committee’s most recent report into the menstrual health of girls and young women.
In its response the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) outlined a series of plans including reducing gynaecology waiting times, ensuring procedures are conducted with women’s full consent and adequate pain relief, and improving access to contraception for menstrual healthcare.
But Ms Owen said ‘significant’ questions remain over the adequacy of the investment that is being provided.
‘Significant questions remain following today’s response publication over the adequacy of investment being provided, including for workforce training, menstrual health education in schools, research and additional ring-fenced funding for women’s health hubs to deliver services within the emerging neighbourhood health framework,’ she said.
She added: ‘A strategy which does not fully address the concerns set out in [the] Women and Equalities Committee’s report, alongside measurable actions and timescales, will only scratch the surface of the issues facing women’s health.’
In its report, published in March, the committee recommended the government match the £25 million previously invested in women’s health hubs during 2023 in 2025 through ring-fenced integrated care board (ICB) funding for the hubs.
But the DHSC has not committed to this funding, instead it highlighted in its response that ICBs are responsible for commissioning services for their population and pointed to the neighbourhood health framework expectation that women’s health hub capacity will be integrated with neighbourhood health centres where possible.
The government also set out, as outlined in the women’s health strategy, that treatment pathways will be sped up by helping ICB introduce single points of access for all non-urgent referrals to gynaecology and women’s health services.
However, responding to the government, the committee raised concerns about the lack of commitment to increasing school nurse provision and no measurable actions and targets on countering online misinformation.
The committee also said there were no new commitments to end inappropriate censorship of women’s online health content, and no further initiatives on tackling racial discrimination or understanding of the menstrual wellbeing needs of young disabled and deaf women.
The committee’s latest report was preceded by a 2024 report into ‘medical misogyny’ which found women experiencing painful reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and heavy menstrual bleeding were frequently finding their symptoms ‘normalised’ and their ‘pain dismissed’ when seeking help.
In both reports from 2024 and 2025, MPs called on the government to recognise the benefits of increased investment in early diagnosis and treatment of women’s reproductive health conditions and provide additional funding necessary to transform the support available to millions of women.
