Why do we dismiss women’s pain?

Lucy Richards began experiencing intense, gnawing pelvic pain three years ago, during her second year of law school. Every month, it felt as if someone was plunging a knife into her abdomen over and over. Painkillers had no effect and being upright during the stabbing sensations was virtually impossible. On her worst days, she passed out from the pain; sometimes it brought on a migraine or vomiting. She saw doctor after doctor, was shuttled around hospital departments and sent home with diagnoses that ranged from constipation to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

“I asked the doctors for an ultrasound and they refused because they thought I just had piles or constipation,” says Lucy, a 26-year-old law associate.

The pain became a weekly occurrence that disrupted Lucy’s ability to study for her law exams or simply get out of bed. “When the pain came on, I felt like I was dying,” she said.

During one Christmas,